Beyond the Shadows
by Silvergrace
Summary: Duncan and Alistair are called to Denerim to deal with a "little" problem. The city guards are having difficulty dealing with a thief they call the "Dark Crusader". Who is this thief? And what are the Crusader's intentions?
1. Chapter 1

Hello fellow Dragon Age fans! This is my first fanfic story and I'm happy and scared at the same time. I'm happy that I finally got the guts to post something, but really nervous of what you all will think. Anyway I hope you like it and I welcome reviews and advice and whatnot, if it's flames be kind it is after all my first try. Also I do not own Dragon Age or any of their characters. Anyway I hope you enjoy!

All was quiet in the streets of Denerim. There was not a single cloud in the night sky, which allowed the full moon to look down silently at the world. It was late into the night and not a single soul was out wandering the streets, "Guards seize the thief!"; okay someone was out, but they weren't exactly wandering. A cloaked figure scaled over the stone walls of the estate. "She's on the wall!", someone called as the figure ran along the wall and leaped over to a nearby structure, "What are you waiting for! Fire at her!" a guard commanded. The figure swiftly dodged the oncoming waves of arrows as she made another leap down into the alleyway below. "She's in the streets! I want scouting parties of three! Go after her!" The chase was on as the guards scattered and the lone figure continued her race through the maze of streets heading for the Drakon River. "There she is!" a man called behind her. It was time for them to lose her trail, as she got closer to the bridge. A group of guards ran across the bridge only to see that the opposite end had been gated off.

"Are you sure she went this way?" one of them asked.

"Yes, I'm positive that she did." Another replied.

"Well, then where is she?" he demanded.

"Do you think she jumped into the river?" the third guard questioned.

"No, we would have heard her if she did", he said with certainty.

"Looks like she gave us the slip. Let's double back and search the area."

As their voices faded, the figure stepped out from the shadows beneath the bridge. 'Thank the Maker for enchanted boots', she thought as she stood on the water's surface. She jogged along the river melting into the shadows and disappeared into the night.

Soooooooooo….. what do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

It was a sunny day in the capital and the streets were alive with activity as Duncan walked through the Market district.

"Why did you need to bring me along exactly?", oh and Alistair too.

Duncan looked at his young pupil, who had recently become a Junior among the Grey Wardens. "Because Alistair you need to learn how to deal with such tasks. Before you know it you will be able to go on assignments on your own", he explained.

"Right, got it. So what brings us to Denerim then?"

"It seems that the guardsmen have been having trouble dealing with a certain difficulty here in the city. From what I've been told it seems that we have a thief on our hands."

"I'm sorry - our hands?"

"Yes, the guards men have asked for the Grey Wardens to help assist them in this matter. Apparently, this thief has been running amuck for months now and has always seemed to outmaneuver them each and every time. Right now we are on our way to meet with Captain Chase, who is head of the guards, to be filled in about the current situation."

Later, they finally reached the guard outpost that was stationed in the city. "Ah, Wardens. Good to see you. Please, come in", Captain Chase welcomed them into his office.

"So tell us Captain, what seems to be the situation here?" Duncan asked.

"Oh Maker, where to begin. As you both know we got a thief on our hands and not just some amateur mind you. We have a real professional a true master mind on our hands."

"What can you tell us about this thief?" Duncan questioned.

"They call her the 'Dark Crusader'"

"Wait, this thief is a woman?" Alistair interrupted.

"Yes, a woman", he confirmed, "Anyway, about 5 months ago we had a small series of petty thefts, which at the time wasn't a big deal. But, then over time, the crimes started occurring more often and the thefts became bigger. Just last week she broke into the Arl of Denerim's estate."

"Getting in there is quite a challenge", Duncan commented.

"Indeed it is. This one is quite a clever one. Always giving us the slip, disappearing without a trace, she always seems to be one step ahead of us."

"Could it be an inside job? Someone who is in the guard?" Alistair suggested.

"We've thought of that, but we only have a few women in our ranks and no one fits her description. She wears a cowl, which makes it even harder to figure out who she is exactly. But, it is strange though, the stolen items that we have recorded are mostly paintings, heirlooms, trinkets and so on."

"It's strange for a thief to steal priceless objects? Shocking", Alistair said sarcastically.

The Captain just shook his head, "No, you don't understand. You see the usual process for a thief is that whatever articles they steal they sell off immediately. The items then make their way through a chain of buyers until they eventually end up in the Marketplace. We check the shops regularly, but so far none of these items have made themselves known."

"Could they have been sold in other cities in Ferelden?" Duncan suggested.

"We've asked for reports from them, but nothing."

"So if she is not selling the items for profit, what does she want then?" asked Alistair.

"Here, we received this note two days ago", as he passed Duncan a sheet of paper.

" 'I have made myself a well know reputation here in the city. You are now aware of just how skilled I really am. Until I see improvements made in the Alienage only then will I stop and the items be returned to their rightful owners. If I see no progress made in two weeks time I shall make my greatest heist yet- I will steal Queen Anora's ceremonial crown. Know that nothing is impossible. Signed the Dark Crusader.'" Read Duncan.

"Well, she's got guts I'll give her that. But why the Alienage of all things?" said Alistair.

"Have you seen the Alienage? They don't exactly live a life of luxury in there. Though I must admit her acts are noble, but still a crime is a crime."

"Indeed, but what does the Queen have to say about all this?"

"I tried talking to her about it, though I intended to speak to the king, but he's in Ostagar at the moment so I had little choice. As far as the Queen is concerned the palace is impenetrable", he ended sighing.

"So what is your plan of action?" Alistair asked.

"As I see it there are two options: either find the Dark Crusader and try to reason with her or capture her as she attempts to steal the Queen's crown. Personally, I would like to see her take that crown, maybe that will finally get Anora to put some funding into the Alienage."

"Captain, why don't you let us try to track her down first. She has to have some contacts in the city, no?" offered Duncan.

"Very well, you two have a look around see what you can find, though I doubt you will. If you can't find anything then report back here and we'll discuss ways to make sure the Crusader doesn't succeed in the heist."

Duncan and Alistair left the guardhouse and walked through the crowded streets.

"So where do we begin?" Alistair asked.

"I think the Alienage is as good as any place to start since it is the Dark Crusader's main point of interest. Plus I have an old friend in the Alienage who may be about to help us."

"See this is why you're in charge." Alistair said as the headed for the Alienage.


	3. Chapter 3

I just want to thank those of you who have been reading my story and who have commented on it. It means a lot to me. =D

* * *

Duncan and Alistair made their way through the Alienage. It was Alistair's first time seeing the community. He looked around disbelievingly as he saw the poor conditions that these elves were living in. Then whole place smelt of death and rotting food, which really unsettled him.

"How do they let them live in these conditions?" Alistair asked sadly.

"To the nobles and many others, elves are seen far from equals. Even though they have been free as slaves here in Ferelden little as been done to help them", he explained.

"I can see why the Crusader does what she does. No one deserves to live like this."

"I agree, that is why I hope we can speak with her before things get too out of hand. Ah, and there is my old friend." He gestured to an elder male elf, "Valendrian," he called over getting the elf's attention, "how are you my friend." The elf's face lite up as he spotted Duncan.

"Duncan, it is good to see you," he greeted as they shook hands, "and who is this young lad here with you?"

"Valendrian, I would like you to meet Alistair, a Junior in the Grey Wardens. Alistair this is Valendrian the elder and administrator here in the Alienage."

"It's nice to meet you", Alistair said as they shook hands.

"Same here Alistair. Now, what brings you two here to the Alienage?" Valendrian asked with interest.

"Warden business I'm afraid. Valendrian, what can you tell us about the Dark Crusader?"

Valendrian nodded in understanding, "Ah, I see. Why don't you two come into my house and we'll talk in there?"

Entering Valendrian house he gestured them both to take a seat at the table. "So why do we have to talk in here?" Alistair asked.

"It's just a precaution in case a guard happens to overhear our conversation", Valendrian explained, "Now what exactly do you need to know about the Crusader?"

"We only wish to speak with her Valendrian, the city guardsmen have asked us to assist with her capture. She left the Captain a note a few days ago saying how she would steal the Queen's crown if her demands aren't meet within the next 2 weeks." Duncan explained to him.

Valendrian shook his head sadly, "Ah, I didn't think that she would go through with it."

"Valendrian?" Duncan asked concerned.

"You both have to understand that the Crusader is like a savior to us here. She has helped us out so much during these past few months. Duncan, you won't believe how many lives have been saved from starvation and sickness thanks to her. I know that her crimes are wrong, but you have little choice when it comes down to life or death. Everyday here is a battle for survival."

"We understand that her intentions are for the better good Valendrian, but we just want to come to an understanding before things get out of hand. If she takes that crown there will be a heavy price on her head."

Valendrian sighed with worry, "I'll see if I can arrange for a meeting, though it will take some convincing. We would all hate to see her suffer for helping us."

"So, how does she help you? From what the Captain told us it seems that she doesn't sell her stolen items?" Alistair asked.

"That I do not know myself where she gets the money and I think it's best if it remained that way. She never gives it to us directly. Sometimes we'll wake up in the morning finding a few silvers on the night table or a small pouch in our shoes. She leaves what she can in order not for us to attract to much attention."

"Such as?" Alistair offered.

"Well, what would you think if you saw an elf from the Alienage go into the Marketplace and buy himself a sword?"

"I'd say something strange is going on or that he's just plain lucky." Alistair joked.

"Exactly, if she left us more than a few silvers the city guards would be all over this place."

"Yes, I see your point." Alistair nodded in understanding.

"Listen, how about you both return here to see me tomorrow and I will tell you if she will agree to met with you. If you like you can ask some of the others outside to see exactly what her reputation is like around here. Just be careful of what you ask.", he warned.

"That sounds like a good idea. Alistair, why don't you go on ahead? I would like to catch up with Valendrian if you don't mind."

"No, of course not Duncan. I'll see what I can dig up."

"Duncan, why don't you go outside with him and we'll talk out there; it's such a beautiful day and I would hate to waste it in here now that we are done with our secretive chat."

"I agree."

"Go on out. I just need to put something away and I'll join you in a moment."

Once the door had closed behind Duncan, Valendrian took in a deep breath, "So, what do you think?" he asked out loud to the shadows.

"Their concern is touching", a hooded figure melted from the shadows, present since the start of Valendrian's conversation with the Wardens. "I will meet with them."

"How come you didn't tell me you were going to go through with your plan? You know I worry about you." He said concerned.

"I was planning on telling you, but they beat me to it. I'm sorry Valendrian, but apparently this is the only way to get her Highness' attention." She said with a smirk. "Plus, if I succeed not only will progress be finally made in the Alienage, but this heist will be recorded in Ferelden history and be talked about for decades to come."

"Always the optimist", Valendrian said with a small smile on his face, "Just promise me that you will be careful."

"Aren't I always?" she asked, "Till tomorrow Valendrian" as she disappeared into the shadows.


	4. Chapter 4

OK this chapter I was really scared about posting it and I hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own this song I found it online one day and I thought it was pretty it's called 'Taking you home' and it's from movie Balto 2 and unfortunately I can't find who it is sung by and again I don't own it.

* * *

As Alistair left Duncan to chat with Valendrian he began walking deeper into the Alienage. In the distance he saw some elves setting up decorations for what looked liked a wedding. Suddenly, a soft melody began to fill the air.

Somebody wants you

Somebody needs you

Someone is searching for your heart alone

A soothing, heart-lifting voice traveled on the light breeze. Enraptured by it's beauty Alistair followed the music to the source.

Someone is dreaming

Waiting and watching

Someone is coming to take you home

Time it will fly

Like the sun in the sky

And what once was hello

Turns to goodbye

Hearing the music getting louder Alistair peered around the corner of the next building. There he saw a grand oak in the center of the small square of the Alienage. In the shade of the tree there was a small group of elven children sitting in a circle around a young woman. She had her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and was dressed in a simple tunic and breeches as she strummed a guitar. The children sat quietly watching her intently.

Tomorrow is here now, sings

In you ear now

Child of my heart, your life

Is your own

Never you fear, now

Your path is clear now

Someone who loves you, someone

Who loves you is taking you home

The music slowly faded as she finished her song much to Alistair's disappointment.

"What are you doing?" a female voice demanded from behind.

"Maker!" Alistair jumped spinning around to see a red headed elven woman looking at him suspiciously. As the elf took in his features a look of recognition came over her face.

"Wait, I saw you earlier. You were talking to Valendrian, are you a friend of his?"

"Umm, more of an acquaintance I would say. I came here with his friend Duncan."

"Duncan of the Grey Wardens? I know him he's a nice man. He comes to visit Valendrian once in a while. If Duncan brought you here then you're probably as kind as he is. Sorry about scaring you. Sometimes we get the occasional shem that likes to come in here and give us trouble."

"I wasn't scared, you just surprised me that's all", he tried to convince her.

"Right", she totally didn't believe him, "My name is Shianni by the way," giving him a small smile.

"Alistair", he responded giving her a smile of his own.

"So Alistair, you never did answer my question. What are you doing?" she asked with interest.

"Me? Oh, nothing." Giving her a sheepish look.

Shianni looked behind Alistair noticing the group huddled beneath the oak tree. Understanding why this man was looking so guilty of being caught spying. Well, he did seem like a gentleman and he did look pretty handsome for a human. They would look pretty good together if things worked out. There's no harm in it.

"Oh, I see," she said as she gave Alistair a knowing look, "Come on I'll introduce you", she said as she tugged him along behind her.

"Wait, what?" said a surprised Alistair. Everything was happening so fast; first he was looking at a pretty girl, then an elven girl caught him in the act and now said elven girl was pulling him to meet her. If he acted fast he could stop her before he made a fool out of himself.

"Jena!" Shianni called. 'Too late' he thought. 'Who knows this could actually go well.'

Hearing her name she turned her attention away from the children to see Shianni tugging along a man behind her. Standing up from her seat she excused herself from the children to see what her friend was up to.

"Hi Shianni", Jena greeted as they got closer.

Reaching her friend Shianni began introductions, "Jena this is Alistair. He's a friend of Valendrian and is a Grey Warden. Alistair, as you already know this is Jena, my best friend."

"It's nice to meet you Alistair", she said as she offered her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine Jena", he responded as he grasped her hand feeling the soft skin there. He reluctantly let go of it before he did something stupid.

"Jena is a regular volunteer at the orphanage here in the Alianage. Though you will be leaving soon to go visit your family in Highever, right?" she ended off sadly.

"Aw, Shianni don't look so sad I'll be back before you know it. Besides you know how my parents get if I'm gone for more than a month. They start to claim that they don't know what I look like any more," she joked.

"Jena!" one of the children screamed.

"Oh, Maker. Excuse me for a moment," leaving to go comfort the crying child.

"She's very good with the children," Alistair observed as he saw her embrace the child whispering words of reassurance to him.

"Ya, she does have a way with them and she does it all willingly. Everyone here loves her." Shianni told him.

"I can see why." He knew this girl for a minimal of 5 minutes and already he was developing a crush on her. Once the boy had calmed down Jena placed him back on the ground and ruffled his hair before making her way back to them.

"Arf!" Alistair and Shiannni both turning their heads to the noise they saw Jena turn her head just before she was knocked to the ground by a giant blur.

Shianna burst out laughing as she saw her friend flung to the ground. "Shouldn't we go help her?" Alistair asked as he panicked as he saw the large Mabari war hound assault her.

"Oh, don't worry that's just Jena's Mabari."

"Eddie!", Jena screeched.

"Yep, that's our Eddie boy." Shianni laughed.

Alistair shook his head has he headed over to help Jena up. As he got closer he grinned when he saw the war hound assault his master with wet, sloppy kisses.

"Eddie, get off of me you're heavy!" she laughed out.

"Need a hand there?" he asked as he offered his.

"Yes, that would be much appreciated," she said as she finally got the large beast off her and took his hand. Alistair lifted her up on her feet as Shianni came up to them still trying to get her laughing fit under control.

"Good to see that my misery brings you so much joy," Jena joked.

"Haha, I'm sorry, but it never gets old."

"Alistair?"

'Uh oh', Alistair thought has he turned to see his mentor approach them.

"Where you able to find out anything?" he asked.

Alistair looked at him guiltily, "Um, no sorry Duncan I got a bit distracted," rubbing the back of his neck.

"I can see that, but I don't mind Alistair. It looks like you were enjoying yourself." Turning his attention to his company, "Hello, Shianni it is good to see you again", he greeted.

"You too Duncan", she replied.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I don't know your friend here", he said looking at Jena.

"This is my friend Jena. Jena this is Duncan of the Grey Wardens." Shianni introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Duncan." She said as they shook hands.

"Likewise, Jena." He returned.

"Is there a wedding to be taken place soon?" he asked noticing the decorations.

"Yes, my cousin and a friend of ours are getting married tomorrow. It's a double wedding. Will you be joining us for the celebrations?" Shianni asked.

"We'll see how well our assignment goes first, but we may be able to stop by for a bit to congratulate the happy couples."

"We hope that you will be able to join us." Jena smiled, "Sorry, but I must excuse myself. It's getting late and the children need to be fed" Jena apologized.

"Children?" Duncan asked looking at her estimating that she could be not older than 19; a bit young for her to have children.

"Oh, Maker no, not my children," she assured him seeing the shocked look he was giving her, "I help look after the children here at the orphanage."

"I'll come help you" Shianni offered.

"Wait, before you girls leave would you mind answering a question for us?" Duncan stopped them.

"Of course", Jena answered.

"What do you know of the Dark Crusader? We just want to know what you think of her reputation."

"Well," Shianni said hesitantly, "not much is known about her besides her being a thief. But, she has helped us so much. Many people here have been able to survive because of her efforts. Not many people would go out of their way to help us."

"Yes," Jena agreed, "she is the reason why all these children are able to go to bed with a full stomach and a warm blanket."

"I see, thank you for answering. We better take our leave ourselves Alistair as the Captain will be expecting us to report back. Enjoy your evening ladies." Duncan said as they said their goodbyes.

The two Wardens made their way back to the Marketplace to their rooms at one of the local taverns after giving their report to the Captain. He was pleased by the results and asked them to report back with news about the meeting if it happened.

"So, Jena works at the orphanage?" Duncan asked making conversation.

"Yes, she volunteers there. She's good with the children." Alistair answered.

"Ah, a kind soul indeed. The world could use more people like her. So what do you think of her?"

"What?" Alistair asked startled by the question.

"Oh, come on Alistair I saw the way you were looking at her." Duncan looked at him knowingly. He knew Alistair too well not to know that he had come to fancy the young woman.

"But,.. Duncan..it's just a crush.. I mean," he stuttered nervously.

"Relax, Alistair I'm just teasing you", he said patting him on the shoulder.

"Besides, it's not like anything is going to happen between us. I just met her after all and with me being a Grey Warden and all…" he trailed off.

"You never know Alistair. The Maker does work in mysterious ways," Duncan offered.

"We'll see Duncan. We'll see." He said as he repeated the soft melody in his mind over and over again. 


	5. Chapter 5

Didn't think that I would be able to post this chap up today cause I've busy with work lately but yay me!

* * *

It was a perfect day for a wedding. The sun was shining high in the sky with only a few clouds dotting the clear blue sky. Everyone in the Alienage was rushing about to get the final preparations ready. Jena was walking about with Eddie to see if anybody needed help with anything; that is until Shianni ambushed her.

"Morning Jena!" she greeted brightly.

"Hey Shianni! So how is your cousin fairing this morning?" Jena asked.

"Oh, you know Dala she's been looking forward to this day for weeks now. Seriously, right now she's walking around like she's drunk on happiness or something," she said dramatically.

"Can you blame her? It's a big day for her. I only wish I'm half has happy as her when I find that special someone."

Shianni smiled mischievously, "Speaking of special someone's, what did you think of Alistair yesterday?"

"He seemed really nice, a perfect gentleman in fact and has a good sense of humor as well. Why do you ask?" growing suspicious of her friend. Shianni always did have a knack for getting into trouble.

"Oh, I was just thinking how perfect the two of you looked together." Shianni knew she spoke the truth she saw just how Alistair looked at her friend. It was a total case of love at first sight. But, she knew what the both of them didn't know yet.

"Shianni, are you trying to set me up?"

"Maybe", she admitted.

Jena shook her head, "I swear Shianni I think you are almost as bad as my mother."

"Oh come on Jena, he's perfect for you," she whined.

"Okay now your scaring me cause my mother tells me that every time she finds a new suitor for me."

"Oh what does your mother know? I'm your best friend I'm the one who knows you the best and I say he is an excellent match for you. Alistair has the whole package; he's kind, he's smart, he's funny and, in case you didn't notice, he's handsome!" she listed off with her fingers.

"He was pretty handsome wasn't he," Jena gushed as her cheeks started to redden a bit. Eddie let out a bark and let out a low whine.

"Yes, and you're the handsomest of all, boy," she said as she scratched his head. Eddie then gave her a look that said, 'It doesn't hurt to hear it once in a while'.

"See what did I tell you? I knew it you would like him!" Shianni said proud of herself for introducing them.

"But, I just don't see anything ever happening between us Shianni. I mean I just met the man yesterday and with him as a Warden and me with my status I don't know if it's even possible."

"Hey, don't you dare talk like that. Whatever happened to nothing is impossible? You deserve someone like Alistair and I just know this will all work out somehow. I can just feel it in my bones." She said grasping Jena's shoulders.

"And how am I to defy the bones of the All Powerful Shianni," she laughed.

"Exactly, now if you would just keep listening to me your life would be so much better."

"Yes, mother" Jena couldn't help but say.

"Don't you 'yes mother' me young lady. Now go and put on your bridesmaid dress chop chop."

Jena laughed, "Alright, alright already I'm going," as she departed with Eddie trailing behind her.

* * *

Duncan and Alistair were waiting outside of Valendrian's house. When they arrived he told them that the Dark Crusader had agreed to meet with them. Right now they were waiting for the Crusader to make her appearance. The Alienage today was buzzing with activity, as people were getting ready for the wedding.

"Wardens", a voice greeted from nowhere.

Dunce and Alistair exchanged a confused look. Scanning the area not seeing whom the voice belonged to.

"Head to the local shop, there will be an alley way that leads to the back of the building. Meet me there."

"Spooky." Alistair commented.

Reaching the meeting place, a figure emerged from the shadows.

"I apologize for the inconvenience gentlemen, but it's best that I do not make an appearance in broad day light." The Dark Crusader up close and personal. She was dressed in light leather armor along with a hood and cape all in black. At the moment her hood concealed her face.

"You sure you are wearing enough black?" Alistair couldn't help but ask.

"What? Were you expecting me to be all pink and frilly?" she shot back. That shut him up.

"Now if you would follow me we'll go to a place where it is more private to talk." With a sweep of her cloak she made her way over to the stonewall that lined the Alienage. After a series of hand placements the stone moved to reveal a secret passageway.

Leading the Wardens down a dark passage they shortly came to a door. Pulling out a key the Crusader opened the door revealing a small chamber complete with lit candles, a table and three chairs.

"Have a seat Wardens", she offered as she made her way around the table and took a chair. Duncan and Alistair took their seats.

"Very secretive." Alistair commented.

"Yeah, well you kind of have to be in order to make it in this business. Anyway let's just cut to the chase. You two were asked by the city guard to assist in my capture, but you two and even the Captain wish to speak to me before certain events are put in motion. Very interesting indeed."

"We would just like to try and settle things before this whole thing gets too out of hand Crusader. You do realize that if you go through with your heist the Queen won't rest until you are caught." Said Duncan.

"I appreciate your concern Warden, but I am very well aware of what is at stake here. And I believe that this is a cause worth fighting for."

"Isn't there some other method you could resort to that isn't so extreme?" asked Duncan.

The Crusader let out a dark chuckle, "You don't think I've tried? I've tried to talk to nobles about bringing the issue up at the landsmeets, I've tried getting audiences with the Queen, though it was a fools attempt. Each and every time I get the brush-off along with fake words of reassurances. I do get the rare response of them saying that something will be done, but surprise surprise not even the slightest sign of progress has been shown. Actually, I'm really not being fair here. There are the few nobles who have tried to help the cause like Arl Eamon, Teryn Cousland, the Arlessa of Waking Seas to name a few of course. But, in the end the King and Queen make the final decision. And since King Cailan is at Ostagar at the moment it seems the only way to get the good Queen's attention is to resort to this type of action."

"Do you steal from Arl Eamon?" Alistair asked feeling himself get angry.

"The Arl is a good man; I don't and won't ever have the intention of stealing from him or from any of the other good nobles. I only steal from the ones that deserve it like Arl Howe, the Arl of Denerim and his son. Those men are very… unpleasant to put it nicely."

"But to go through this, is it really all necessary?" questioned Alistair.

"You've seen the conditions that these people live in, the way the are treated it's inhumane. Just because they are different they are not considered our equals. When I first came to the Alienage it was heart breaking to see these souls hanging onto the thin line between life and death. I got tired of being ignored, I got tired of them being ignored. So I fully intend to make my message to the city loud and clear."

"Surely there must be a way to come to some kind of agreement?" said Duncan.

The Crusader sighed, "As much as I have respect for what you Wardens do, I can't see a way to settle this… quietly. Unless I see the slightest bit of improvement made here in the Alienage I will carry out my plan. Justice comes in many forms Wardens you have your sense of justice and I have mine. Mine just involves a more course of action to be taken.

"I see, we will do our best to convince the Queen to begin progress in the Alienage, but we can't exactly give you our word for it." Duncan said in defeat.

"Hey, if you can get Anora to listen to you I'll disappear for good. I'll go underground and the guards will never hear a peep from me again."

"I guess we are done here. Thank you for meeting with us Dark Crusader." Duncan said as he got up from his seat.

"I'm sorry that we can't settle this properly Wardens. But look at it this way if I do go through with my plan you will have quite the task ahead of you in my capture", she offered trying to lighten the mood.

"That will be an interesting challenge to look forward to." He returned with a small smile.

"See we've got something to look forward to. Now I know that you will be reporting back to Captain Chase so please send him my deepest apologies for being a pain in his arse. Hopefully this will all be over soon," She smiled at them, "Anyway let me lead you gentlemen back. There is a wedding to celebrate today."

* * *

So yes the Crusader is a reasonable thief but what will happen next since the Wardens couldn't talk her outta her plan? (cue dramatic music) I think you can kinda guess what will occure next week.


	6. Chapter 6

The Dark Crusader and the Wardens stepped out from the passageway and into the streets of the Alienage. The air was silent and still odd for a day that was to be celebrated.

"Something's not right," the Crusader, said has she stopped.

"How can you tell?" asked Alistair.

"Can't you feel it in the air? There is too much tension and fear laced into it. And it's far too quiet for a wedding day."

"The Crusader is right Alistair," Duncan said as he felt the atmosphere, "something is amiss."

"We need to find Valendrian. Now." She said sternly.

"Agreed." Duncan said as Alistair nodded in agreement.

Making fast haste to the staging area where the wedding was being held, what they saw confirmed their fears. The elven citizens were all huddled in small groups speaking in hushed tones with concerned looks on their faces. As the Crusader passed through the crowd they all began to turn their attention on her with looks of surprise and hope. "Look it's the Dark Crusader", someone said as word spread around.

"Valendrian!" the Crusader called as she spotted him near the stage.

"Crusader", he said with a bit of relief, "Duncan, Alistair, thank the Maker."

"What has happened Valendrian?" his friend asked.

"A lot in the short time that you've been gone. Vaughan Urien, the Arl of Denerim's son, he came, disrupted the wedding and took Shianni and three of the girls."

"Did he take Jena?" Alistair asked as the thought came to him.

"No, Jena went to go get the city guardsmen, though I doubt they will come."

"But why would the Arl's son come here?" she asked with great concern.

"Soris told me that the Arl's son had come here earlier today and that Shianni struck him with a bottle, knocked him right out."

"And now he's come back to even the score." She ended for him.

"Yes, and now he's taken the girls to his estate and I fear for the worse for them."

"I'm going after them." The Crusader said determined.

"They left just moments ago. Hopefully you can save them before any harm comes to them."

"I'm coming with you." Alistair said.

"No, you're not." She told him.

"She is right Alistair. As much as we would like to help we can't get involved in this." Duncan said.

"What? Duncan, I don't understand."

"Then understand this. If things get ugly in there how do you think this will look on both of you and on your reputations as Wardens. It will look like you are helping the enemy. I appreciate you trying to help, but don't. This is not your fight. And besides I already have a bad reputation." She ended with a smirk before racing off to the Denerim estate.

Since the dark Crusader's departure Duncan had noticed that Alistair had been unusually quiet. He could understand the young lad's frustration of sitting on the sidelines and feeling useless. Though, Alistair needed to learn that you need to pick your battles carefully especially in these hard times.

"What's on your mind Alistair?" Duncan asked as he approached the troubled lad.

"We are Wardens aren't we? We're supposed to help people. How can we just stand by and do nothing?"

Duncan sighed, "Yes, Alistair we do help others, but the Crusader was right this was something that we couldn't get involved in. It would have raised too many questions about us. Besides the Crusader is very skilled and I'm sure that she can handle the situation."

Alistair looked down solemnly, "I suppose you're right Duncan. It is a delicate situation that we are in. But, shouldn't the city guards be here by now? It shouldn't have taken this long for Jena to get them. " Alistair did make a good point. It had been some time since Valendrian told them that she had gone go get help. Was she being delayed? Is she in trouble herself? This brought up a lot of questions in both of the Warden's minds.

"The Dark Crusader as has returned!" a voice announced. Hearing this news the Wardens made their way over to the crowd that had formed on either side of the street. Descending down the steps of the large gateway was the Crusader. Her cloak was removed and was wrapped around a shaken Shianni. Behind them were the other two elven women. The Wardens and Valendrian approached them.

"Crusader, you've returned. Has Shianni been hurt? Where is Tormey's daughter, Nola?" Valendrian asked concerned.

One of the elven girls Valora answered him, "Nola didn't make it. She resisted, and…" she broke off.

Shianni finished for her, "They killed her," forcing herself not to cry.

The Crusader spoke up, "Valora, Dena could you please take Shianni home? She needs to rest."

"Of course," Valora answered taking one of Shianni's arms. The Crusader watched them sadly go and then turned back to Valendrian. The Wardens now just noticing the black and gold cowl that covered her face now that her hood was gone. The mask only allowed them to see the brown of her eyes and a small area from the tip of her nose down to her chin.

"Now tell me Crusader what happened?"

Her face immediately harden at the question, "The Arl's son lies broken, but not dead, though barely. I wasn't able to get there in time to save Nola. I barely got there to save the others before those bastards did any physical damage to them."

"You didn't kill him?" Duncan asked.

"I may be a thief Warden, but I am no murderer. No matter how much the pig deserved it." She said coldly. "Valendrian, take care of Shianni and tell her I'm sorry", she said before storming off.

"Wait, where are you going?" Valendrian called after her.

"To go and deliver a message to Chase. This whole thing just got personal!" she responded in a fit of rage making her way through the street.

After the Dark Crusader left the Alienage in her furious state, the Wardens made a quick dash to the office of Captain Chase. Bursting into his office the Wardens saw him sitting terrified behind his desk.

"Captain Chase?" Duncan said uncertainly. Concerned of what the man's current state was. It was obvious that someone had given him quite a fright.

"Wardens," he said breaking out of his trance, "thank the Maker you've arrived!"

"Was the Crusader here?" Alistair asked.

"Yes, she left just before you got here. And she had brought recent events to my attention. I'm just on my way to go and arrest Vaughan Urien."

"Yes, we are aware of the events that have occurred in the Alienage." Duncan informed him, "an innocent lies dead. The others that made it were nearly physically abused. The Crusader saved them."

"Yes, but that is not what troubles me. She told me that 'it's personal now'. The Crusader is going to do the heist…tonight."

* * *

After writing this chapter I kinda got the feeling that some people would be I don't know mad at me for not killing off Vaughan Urien cause hey who really likes him? Everyone hates him right? I wanted to kill him but I didn't want the Crusader to get into too much trouble. So maybe this will help I'm thinking Vaughan Urien goes to jail and dies a few weeks later from his injuries how bout that? Feel better?


	7. Chapter 7

It may not be great but I think its pretty good. Remember I welcome any comments, reviews, advice, suggestions etc etc. so please let me know what you think.

* * *

Tonight was the night for the Dark Crusader to make her attempt to steal Queen Anora's ceremonial crown. If she succeeded in this heist she would go down in history as Ferelden's most legendary thief. But, of course the main reason she was doing this was to get improvements made in the Alienage. She wasn't doing it for fame. The events that had occurred earlier today broke the last straw of her patience. She let the people she cared about down and now it was time for her to try to make up for it. The Crusader knew that Nola's death was not her fault, but that didn't help make her feel any less guilty about her death. Hopefully tonight will be the start of many changes for the Alienage.

The Dark Crusader peered into the window to see what kind of surprise the palace guards had in store for her tonight. There were guards everywhere, no surprise there, all on the alert for her. They were guarding the crown that was placed on a pedestal in the center of the chamber.

'Seriously,' she thought, 'this was the best that they could come up with? I mean why not hide the crown in the larder or something.' But, knowing the Queen she probably just thought that her little fortress was impenetrable. Well, there was only one way to find out. It was time to go into stealth mode.

"Seriously, why do we have the Queen's crown lying right out in the open? Aren't we just making this a little bit too easy for the Crusader?" a guard asked.

"Because, Brian, we all have our eye on the crown so it's under constant watch. And besides with all of us in here, the Dark Crusader will think twice before taking us all on by herself."

"You do make a good point there, George."

"Bang! Bang!" explosions went off and the chamber was suddenly filled with smoke. The guards panicked.

"It's the Dark Crusader! She's here!" someone called through the veil.

"Maker! Cough..cough, I can't see a bloody thing!" The smoke slowly began to clear and the guards gasped as the pedestal came into view.

"The crown it's gone!"

"Of course it's bloody gone, you idiot!"

"But, where is she? We are locked in from the outside."

"Well, she's obviously not here! Tell the guards on the outside to let us out. Search the palace - she couldn't have gotten too far!"

Finally, as the guards exited, the room was perfectly silent as their footsteps faded down the hallway. A soft chuckle began to echo in the room.

"They really make it too easy," she said to herself as she slipped from behind the curtain, crown in hand. 'Now that I've got the crown it's time to go pop in for a visit with the good Queen.'

* * *

"Your Majesty are you sure that this is the best plan?" Duncan asked.

"I have full confidence in my men Duncan. There is no need to worry, besides just how good can this Dark Crusader be?" the Queen replied she saw no reason to take the situation seriously. Duncan and Alistair along with two palace guards were in the throne room with Queen Anora. Alistair had disliked her from the moment he met her and could not see the reason why King Calien had married her. 'I will never understand politics', he thought to himself.

"Your Majesty!" a guard called as he raced into the room, out of breath. He straightened up, "Your Majesty, the crown's been stolen!" he informed.

"Apparently, she is very good," Alistair commented with a small smile as he took in Anora's shocked look. It was priceless - her mouth hanging open, the raised eyebrows - the whole bit.

"Well, what are you doing here then? Go find her!" oh yes, she was furious indeed.

"Yes, your Majesty. Wardens could you please assist us?" He asked.

"Of course, let's go Alistair." Duncan ordered as the followed the guard out the door. As Alistair took his last step from the room the door shut behind him.

"What?" the guard yelled confused. They all suddenly heard the bolt of the door slide shut. "She's in the throne room!" he continued screaming.

"Maker, could you be any louder?" Alistair said covering his ears. Standing right next to the man.

"Hello, Anora," the Crusader greeted darkly as she closed and bolted the door behind the Wardens.

Anora stood up from her throne, "Guards arrest her!" pointing at her. The guards unsheathed their weapons as they closed in on her. The Dark Crusader brought out her own set of dual-weapons and made quick work of the guards leaving them unconscious on the stone floor. Anora slid back into her seat trying not to look like a coward.

"Now Anora, you and I are going to have a little chat," she said slowly making her way up to the Queen. "I tried to be nice, but no, you chose not to listen. But, you will listen to me now because you see I have had a very bad day and I am not in the mood to tolerate anything right now, so you better listen carefully. Improvements in the Alienage will be made immediately or else." She threatened.

Anora stood up, "How dare you speak to me that..!"

"Sit down!" she commanded immediately silencing the Queen as she took her seat again.

"You see, you and I are going to make a deal. As you are already aware I have your crown," showing it to her, "and the only way that you are going to get it back is when I see the slightest bit of progress. It doesn't have to be big; it can be the smallest act like more food, medical supplies, etc. And when I see this act done I will take it as a sign that such acts will continue to make the Alienage a much better place to live. You do that and you could have your precious crown back as early as tomorrow and I will be out of your life for good. I think I'm being pretty nice here. I'm not asking for anything for myself. I'm merely asking you to do a little bit of community service." The Dark Crusader was now standing right in front of Anora. She swiftly took her blade and pierced it into the wood beside Anora's head, "But, if progress does not continue after that I will be back. That I promise you."

"Alright," Anora breathed out, "improvements will start effective immediately tomorrow morning. You have my word."

"Good," she said lightly as she sheathed her dagger, "I'm glad to see that we understand each other." She turned her back and began making her way towards the window. The door suddenly burst open wood splintering everywhere.

"Well, Anora it was nice chatting with you. We should really do it again sometime," she opened the window, "But oh look it's time for me to go. Cheerio." Waving goodbye with a grin on her face the Dark Crusader dodged out of the way just has the guard made a leap for her. In her hand she held a small sphere that she threw to the floor and she was gone in a puff of smoke. They all rushed to the window.

"She's not there." The guard said then looked back to the entrance seeing her creep for the door. "There she is!" he exclaimed.

"Oh so close," she exasperated with a snap of her fingers before she made a dash for the exit.

"You stay here with the Queen. Alistair and I will go after her." Duncan ordered him.

Making a left through the door the Wardens ran after her until they made their way around the corner where the hall split.

"Alistair you go left and I'll go right."

"Understood." Then they went their separate ways.

She didn't know where they had come from, she didn't even hear them coming in their clunky armor. But, that really didn't matter. At the moment what mattered was getting out of this situation. There were five of them and she could probably take them, but she knew that it was going to quickly drain her.

Working through the guards she began her sword dance. The Crusader had easily taken down the first three; she just needed to knock out these last two and then she could make her escape. She was quick on her feet as twirled and sidestepped a guard's sword thrust, but not quick enough for her to avoid it from grazing her upper arm. 'Damn that's gonna leave a mark' she thought as blood began to seep from the wound. The sword had gone deeper than she thought. She could feel her arm already starting to limp. 'Not good', as she was forced to sheath one sword. She brought up her leg and gave a guard a swift kick in the head knocking him out cold. 'One down one to go,' as she prepared to take on the last guard she didn't notice him come up from behind, shield bashing her. The Crusader was propelled into the hard stonewall feeling herself falling onto the floor. With a groan she rolled onto her back, her arm suffering from even more damage. The guard was advancing towards her getting ready to make the final blow. 'I won't let it end like this' before she could make a move she saw the guard go flying in front of her. His head met the wall with a sickening crack. 'What the..?' now she was confused.

Alistair was suddenly kneeling" in front of her, "You're hurt", he stated.

She gave a soft laugh, "What gave it away?"

"The bleeding arm was kind of a dead give away," he said while searching through his pack.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding some bandages. I'm gonna patch you up before you lose too much blood." He stated like it was obvious.

"You do realize that you are helping the bad guy."

"From the way I see it you're one of the good guys." he started bandaging her wound.

"And how does being a thief make me one of you the good guys?" she asked, wincing as he pulled the bandage a little tight.

"Sorry. Well, you're doing whatever it takes all for the sake of others. That makes you a hero in my book", he said with a small smile.

"I'm honored."

"There - all patched up. It's not the best, but it will do." He said standing up then offered her a hand. With a hesitant look at him she took his hand and he helped her up. They looked at each other silently for a moment.

"So, what are you waiting for?" he asked.

This man was really confusing her, "What?"

"You have to get out of here before more guards come."

"I don't understand. You have the advantage here and you're letting me go?"

"I believe that what you are doing is right and that your actions will help a lot of people in the Alienage. Now, you have to go before they find you." He urged her.

She gave him a bright smile while shaking her head, "You are indeed a strange man Alistair."

"Wait, how do you know..?" he froze as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, handsome," and then she jogged to the nearest window and leapt out of it and into the night.

Staring at the window in a daze Alistair didn't notice Duncan come up beside him.

"So, you let her go." It wasn't a question.

"Yes..Duncan I'm sorry. I know you must be disap.."

"No need to apologize Alistair," Duncan cut him off, "I would have done the same thing. Just don't let the Queen know."

"Wait, if you would have done the same thing, why were we chasing her then?"

"To put on a good show of course", he said with a small smile and a bit of a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Now let us get back to her Majesty and tell her the tragic news."

* * *

Ya I realized that Duncan and Alistair never introduced themselves to the Crusader hence the "how do you know" line. So far I've been getting really good reviews from readers and that gives me so much confidence as a first time writer. Good reviews= Happy writer! =D I want to thank you all who have taken the time to comment on my story so far and to also thank you regular readers out there! You know who you are!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: Creativity as been a bit slow lately without my xbox 360 I feel a bit lost without playing Dragon Age. Haven't played it for over a month (cries). What a sad life I live lol. But good news is that I found out I will get my repaired xbox back sometime this week =D (happy dance). I had to ship it off to Texas when it got the red ring of death. Anyway here is chapter 8. Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning the Wardens reported back to Captain Chase about the events of last night.

"Good morning Captain", Duncan greeted as they stepped into his office.

"Ah, morning to you too, Wardens", he returned, "It seems your assignment has been completed here."

"I'm sorry Captain?" Duncan asked.

"You don't know? This morning I came in here and found every stolen item here in my office. All accountable for, even the Queen's crown," he explained smiling, "I even found a letter of apology on my desk", handing Duncan the note.

"'Anora was true to her word. Here are all the items returned as promised. Hopefully this will be my last and final letter to you and as part of the agreement I will disappear for good. That is if the Queen keeps her end of the deal. Also I apologize for being a pain in the arse for you Captain. Keep up the good work. Signed the Dark Crusader'", he read out loud turning to Alistair, "It seems as though our work here is done Alistair."

"So it is."

"Yes, thank you for all your help throughout this mess, Wardens. Though, the Crusader isn't a bad lass herself I do admire her courage for taking a stand."

"She truly is something else indeed. Well, seeing as we are no longer needed, Captain, we'll be taking our leave now."

"Of course, don't let me keep you. Again we appreciated your help."

Once outside in the street Alistair turned to Duncan.

"So, will we be leaving the city?" he asked

"Actually, I thought we could spare a few more days. I told Valendrian we would say goodbye before we left and I also promised him that we would join in on the celebrations."

"Celebrations?"

"Yes, they are going to hold the weddings again in a few days. I'm sure that it will be nice to unwind a bit after all of this excitement."

"Who am I to argue with you Duncan?"

* * *

**A few days later….**

The ceremony went a lot more smoothly today than it did the first time. Even though it was a bit too soon to be celebrating after Nola's death she was in their prayers. A small ceremony was held for her as the community grieved her death. But in their hearts they had a feeling that Nola's spirit would be present for this day and was watching over them.

The crowd let out a roar of applause as the Revered Mother gave the grooms permission to kiss their brides. Jena was standing next to Shianni in their bridesmaid dresses. Jena in earth tones while Shianni's were white and brown. Though Jena would have preferred to be dressed in trousers and tunic that were much more comfortable than dresses, but today was a special occasion so she would just have to bear with it for now. As the couples left the stage to begin the celebrations, Jena looked at her friend with concern.

"How are you doing?" she asked softly.

Shianna took in a deep breath, "Better. I'm still a bit shaken up, but it will pass eventually."

Jena looked away from her, "I'm so sorry, Shianni."

"Hey come on now. No need to look so guilty. You did what you could and I'm grateful for that. I'm lucky to have you for a friend." She said as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Jena glanced back at her smiling, "And I'm lucky to have such a strong friend like you."

"Yeah, we're both pretty lucky. You have to leave tomorrow right?"

"I was hoping to stay longer, but I received a letter from my parents. They need me to come home as soon as possible. They tell me that there is trouble in the south, though I'm not exactly sure why they need me to come home."

"Your mother probably has another suitor waiting to surprise you with." Shianni joked.

"Don't even joke about that! Great now you've put me in a state of fear about going home." She laughed as she gave Shianni a playful nudge.

"Alright, alright I'll stop teasing you. Now lets go join the party." She said excitedly as she dragged Jena down the stairs.

Duncan and Alistair had arrived during the festivities, after the wedding ceremony. Alistair scanned the crowd hoping to spot a certain someone. Sadly he had not seen her yet, he was hoping that he would at least to get the chance to say goodbye before he and Duncan left tomorrow. Alistair was standing next to Duncan not paying attention to what he was saying to Valendrian when Shianni appeared beside him.

"Good to see that you two were able to make it," she said smiling.

"Yes, thank you for inviting us. Alistair, I'm going to be speaking with Valendrian for a while, why don't you join in on the party and enjoy yourself?" Duncan offered.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude.."

"Nonsense, come on! I'll introduce you to a few friends and we'll make sure that you have a good time!" Shianni said as she pulled him away from the two. This was her chance to do something super nice for her friend.

"So I couldn't help but notice that you were looking for someone?" she said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Alistair blushed slightly, "What? No, I wasn't."

"You know you are not exactly the greatest liar."

He sighed, "Yeah, I know. I should really work on that."

"Let me guess - you were looking for Jena?"

"That obvious, is it?"

"Just a bit. And by the way she is right…" looking through the crowd, "there!" pointing near the great tree that loomed over the square. After some searching Alistair saw Jena dancing with a small girl with Eddie jumping around them happily barking. Jena twirled the child round and round before lifting her up in to the air as the girl let out a shrill of happiness. Alistair smiled at the act.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go over there and ask her to dance!" she ushered him.

"Wait, what? I can't do that," he wasn't bold enough to do that.

"Why not? Look Alistair Jena is leaving tomorrow and so are you. This could be your one and only chance." Shianni did make a good point. When else would he have the chance to dance with a girl he liked? It was a bit risky, but it couldn't hurt to ask could it? He would never know until he tried.

"Alright, you've convinced me, but why are you helping me anyway?"

"Because Jena is my friend and I want what's best for her. Now get your arse over there." She said lightly giving him a slight push causing Alistair to stumble a bit. He glanced back nervously at her seeing her waving at him. 'Oh Maker, here goes nothing'.

Jena was enjoying herself while dancing with Ally, a small elven girl from the orphanage. Ally was a sweet and shy child at five years of age with short, light blonde hair and big blue eyes. Ally had only just started living at the orphanage a few months ago after Jena and Eddie had found her hiding in one of the many back alleys of Denerim. Since then Ally had immediately glued herself to Jena constantly following her around like a Mabari puppy. Jena twirled Ally around and then without thinking lifted her up in the air. 'Ouch' she inwardly cringed. That wasn't the smartest thing to do. Bringing Ally back to earth bearing the pain she continued their dance with Eddie prancing around them.

"May I cut in?" she heard as she turned to see Alistair beside her. She had been too distracted to notice him approach them.

"Jeez! Maker, Alistair you nearly gave me a heart attack." She jumped placing a hand over her racing heart.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that I possessed the ability of stealth." He said rubbing the back of his neck while smiling and pleased to have caught her off guard.

"Anyway, I was wondering if I could have this dance with you?"

Jena smiled brightly at him overcome with joy that he would ask her, "I would like that, but I think that you would have to get permission from Ally here before you steal me away", looking down at the child.

"Hi there Ally, I'm Alistair," he said kneeling down so that he was at eye level with her.

"Hi Alistair", she greeted in an adorable voice, "Are you really gonna steal Jena away?" she asked hugging Jena's legs refusing to loosen her hold on her caretaker.

"No Ally I would never take Jena away from you."

"Good, cause she's nice and I like her."

Alistair chuckled, "I know you do and I can see why. But, you see I would very much like to dance with Jena, with your permission of course, that is. I'll bring her back, I promise."

Ally looked Alistair up and down, "You seem like a nice man," turning to look up at Jena, "You can dance with Jena."

"Thanks sweetie. I'll be back later, okay? Why don't you play with Eddie for a while?" Jena said while ruffling the young tot's already slightly messed hair.

"Okay." She said.

"Thanks Ally, I owe you one", Alistair said as he stood up, "How about this, to make it up to you I'll dance with you later?"

"Yay!" she bounced before running off to play with Eddie.

Alistair let out a small laugh, "She's one cute kid." He said before shyly taking Jena's hand and leading her to the dance floor. He could already feel the blush starting to creep on his cheeks.

"She sure is." Placing her a hand on Alistair's shoulder as he took her other hand in his larger one.

"I have a confession to make," he started as the two of them just stood there.

"And what might that be?" she teased.

"I can't dance," now officially humiliated by the confession.

"Not even a little?"

"Well I mean I can dance a bit. I'm just not very good at it."

"Then we are just going to have to work on that won't we," she laughed heartily.

Soon after many helpful tips from Jena the pair now slowly swayed to the soft music as they enjoyed each other's company. From the corner of his eye Alistair could see Shianni watching them with a big grin plastered on her face. 'My work here is done' she thought before turning away.

"So Shianni tells me that you are leaving for home tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately, yes I've recently got a letter from my parents telling me to come home. They probably miss me causing trouble at home." She joked.

"Where does your family live?"

"In Highever. Though, I like being here with the children and everyone else I do get a bit home sick from time to time. It will be nice to return home for a while. How about yourself?"

"I've basically spent my life growing up in the Chantry before Duncan came and recruited me. It wasn't exactly an exciting life and.." Alistair broke off as he noticed a stain on Jena's right arm he didn't see before. 'Strange,' he thought curiously as he noticed the mark slowly growing bigger.

Alistair stopped their dancing, "Alistair?," she asked confused of why he suddenly stopped, "Is something wrong?" Alistair placed a hand on the soaked fabric pulling his hand back seeing it now covered in red.

"Jena you're bleeding," he stated quietly seeing the bloodstain on her right shoulder.

'Damn it,' she thought thinking back to when she was dancing with Ally.

"I better go and change the bandages. Excuse me Alistair", she said turning away.

"Wait, I'll help you. It's going to be hard changing them with one hand", he offered following her to the orphanage.

"No, it's okay I can handle it," assuring him so that he would hopefully stop following her.

"I know I'm no healer, but I can bandage a wound or two. Let me take a look at it."

"I said I can handle it Alistair," she snapped back with a bit of bite in her voice.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you here no need to bite my head off. I just want to make sure that you are okay," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. 'What has gotten into her all of a sudden?' he asked himself.

Jena was now overcome with guilt. Alistair was right he was just trying to help her. He didn't deserve to be treated the way she just did to him. They were now at the door to the orphanage; Jena with her hand on the doorknob debating on what she should do.

With a sigh of defeat she surrendered, "You're right. I'm sorry Alistair. if you could help me that would certainly help me avoid a lot of frustration," offering him a small smile, "That is if you still want to help me."

"I do want to help you Jena, but you were just stubbornly refusing it."

"Ya, I know I'm like that," opening the door.

"Well, come on then, let's get the patient treated," he ushered her through the door.

Once inside Alistair noticed the poor condition the structure was in. There were holes in the walls and unsecure floorboards, not exactly a safe environment for a child. He had followed Jena into a room just at the end of the hallway entering as he saw her going through a cupboard full of medical supplies.

"I can see that the Queen kept her word," he said noticing the full shelves stocked with supplies.

Placing the items she needed on the table she replied, "Yes, this morning the Alienage received crates of supplies full of medicine, food, blankets, clothes and plenty more. All donated by the Queen herself. I just hope that we continue to see more effort like this."

"Here let me help", he said reaching over her to grab the disinfectant that Jena was just about to take, "go sit on the bed and I'll bandage you up."

Jena rolled up the sleeve of her dress as she let him wipe her wound clean.

"How on earth did you get this nasty wound?" he asked.

"Just one of those times where you do something stupid."

He chuckled, "Just how stupid?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see there are different levels of stupidity. Let's see there is plain stupid, extremely stupid, idiotic stupid and crazy stupid", he explained with humor as he proceeded to wrap the gauze around her arm. Once finished he went to place the items back in the cabinet. His ridiculous explanation made her laugh.

"You are indeed a strange man, Alistair."

Just then something clicked in Alistair's brain. Hearing Jena say that pieced everything together, everything began falling into place. It all made sense now.

"You're her," he whispered shocked at the conclusion he came to.

"What?"

"You're her. You're the Dark Crusader", pointing at her.

* * *

Sorry you are just gonna have to wait till next week to find out what happens next. =D


	9. Chapter 9

He knew that it had to be her, who else could it be? When he was treating her wound he thought there was something familiar about the situation. It was like déjà vu. She even made the same remark about him that the Crusader made.

"You're her." He said.

"Alistair you keep saying that."

"But, you are her. You're the Crusader. Maker I can't believe it."

"But, I'm not."

"Oh, yes you are." He couldn't believe that she was trying to worm her way out of this. The facts were right there.

"Prove it." There was no way she was going down without a fight.

"Gladly, first of all there was the other day Valendrian said that you had left to get the city guard before the Crusader even showed up and as far as I know you never returned."

"I was…"

"Now your arm is suddenly wounded in the same place that her's was and you just said the same phrase that she told me last night. Word by word."

'Damn it', he was more observant than he appeared to be. There was no point to it now was there. Unless he was a complete idiot it would be extremely hard to talk her way out of this one.

"Oh sod it. Look if we're going talk about this could you at least close the door." She said standing up.

"Fine, I'm the Crusader alright? There, happy now?" she confessed in hushed tones once the door was closed.

"I must say that I'm very pleased with my detective skills, yes." He said cheekily.

"I applaud your oh so superior skills", she replied sarcastically.

"So what happens now?" he asked.

"It's very simple really. You see I make sure that I never show my criminal face again and you make sure that you keep your trap shut about this ever happening."

"Oh, I don't know I think I might need a little something to ensure my silence", his own criminal mind at work.

"Are you seriously asking me for a bribe!" she didn't think that he was this type of man.

"Well, I think one more dance with the pretty lady would keep me quiet."

Okay now that she was not expecting, "You truly are the strangest man that I have ever met. I like you."

"I take that as a yes then?"

"Yes, you can. Now lets get back outside before Ally thinks that you really kidnapped me."

As they began walking down the hallway she couldn't help but ask, "So I have to know. How did Anora's face look when she found out the crown was gone?"

Alistair's laugh echoed through the hallway.

* * *

It started getting dark outside as Jena and Eddie both watched Alistair dance with Ally on his feet. Ally had really taken a shine to Alistair and Jena couldn't blame her for it. He was really good with her. When the song had ended Ally came bouncing over to her.

"Pick me up! Pick me up!" bouncing up and down in front of her.

"Come here kiddo ", Jena said as she lifted the small child into her arms, "Did you have fun with Alistair?"

"Yep!" she answered nodding her head before releasing a big yawn.

"Aw, it looks like it's past someone's bedtime," Alistair commented as he came up to them.

"But, I'm not tired," Ally said sleepily rubbing her tired eyes, laying her head against Jena's shoulder.

Jena giggled at the child's failed attempt to convince her, "Come on Ally, say goodbye to Alistair it's time for you to go to bed."

"Okay," she replied now fighting to keep her eyes open, "Bye Alistair I had a lot of fun today."

"Same here, Ally."

"Will you come back and play with me again soon?"

"I can't make any promises I have to leave tomorrow. But if I'm ever in the city again I'll try and stop by alright?"

"Okay," she replied weakly before submitting to sleep.

"Out like a light," Jena spoke as she held the now sleeping child.

" I can't really blame her. She has had an exciting day", Alistair said.

"You were great with her today, you know", she praised him.

"What can I say? It's hard to say no to those puppy eyed looks of her's."

Jena laughed, "Yep, with big eyes like her's she has the power to bend anyone to her will."

"Jena!" Dena called emerging from the crowd with the others, Shianni included.

"Guys, shhhh!" she hushed gesturing to Ally who was sound asleep in her arms.

"Oh, sorry" she replied lowering her voice.

"Jena, we've been looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry, I was just playing with Ally here. Oh where are my manners? Alistair meet Soris, Valora, Theros and Dena. Alistair here is a friend of mine."

"It is nice to meet you Alistair", Soris said.

"Yes indeed", replied Valora.

"Same here", he told them.

"My friends Soris and Dena here are ones that got married today to Valora and Theros." Jena explained.

"Congratulations to you all. I wish you all the best with your new lives together."

"You are too kind, Alistair", Valora said shyly as the rest nodded their appreciation.

"Any way, the reason why we were looking for you, Jena, was that we just wanted to give our thanks, now in case we can't find you later, for being here today. You've are a good friend to Dena and myself and we are glad that we were able to share this day with you," Soris spoke, on behalf of himself and Dena, wholeheartedly to his friend to voice just how much he and Dena appreciated having Jena in their lives.

"That means a lot to me Soris and I'm happy to be part of your special day. I'm going to miss you and Dena when I leave. Speaking of which I hate to cut this short, but it's getting late and I'll be turning in for the night after I put Ally here to bed. I have to return home early tomorrow." She ended sadly.

"Aw, you're leaving already?" Dena whined.

"Yes, sorry I can't stay longer, but I have a long journey ahead of me tomorrow. I'll come back when I can, but in the mean time I wish you all the best and it was an honor of being part of your wedding day." She said as she hugged each of them with her free arm.

"Thanks for everything Jena. We wish you a safe trip and hope that you return soon." Dena spoke on behalf of them.

"I will. Oh, and Valora take care of Soris - he has trouble tying his shoes sometimes", she teased.

"Hey!"

"Oh, come on Soris I'm just joking." She called softly as she walked away from the group with Alistair and Eddie.

"Wait, Jena," Shianni jogged up beside her, "Why don't I put Ally to bed for you?" she offered wanting Jena and Alistair to have a little alone time together.

"Thanks Shianni, I appreciate it", she said handing her Ally.

"Just wait for me okay. I want to say goodbye before you go", she said as she headed for the orphanage.

Jena suddenly found herself and Alistair in an awkward silence each unsure of what to say to the other.

"So.. I guess this is goodbye then." She started. She hated having to say farewell to one of the nicest men that she had ever met. But, it was for the best right? It wasn't like they were meant to be together or anything for Maker's sake they had only know each other for less than a week. They would go their separate ways and never see each other again. Maybe if they ever did cross paths she would take it as a sign or something.

"Yeah, I guess so," he fidgeted. Alistair wasn't the only one dreading this moment. He had come to really like Jena and for some insane reason he had come to like her even more when he found out that she was the Dark Crusader. This was quite a predicament that he found himself in and he wasn't exactly sure how to say goodbye to her.

"Now that your duty is done here where will you go next?" she asked curious.

"I'm not quite sure myself. I think we might be heading south to Ostagar."

"I see."

"Do you think we will ever see each other again someday?" he blurted out. He knew it was a long shot with a possible Blight rising up in the south, but one never knew.

Jena gave him a small smile, "Perhaps, someday out of the blue. We can only hope, right?"

"I guess so", it at least gave him something to hope for.

"Jena, are you ready to go?" Shianni called from outside the orphanage.

"Well, I better get going. I had a lovely time today Alistair it was really nice meeting you," smiling brightly at him.

He returned her smile, "Same here Jena. Have a safe journey home."

"Thanks Alistair, take care. Say goodbye to Duncan for me," she called over her shoulder, waving at him. Alistair turned his head away after watching her go that he did not seeing Jena come running back to him to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"See ya, handsome," she whispered in his ear. Before Alistair could say anything she was already running back to Shianni.

'She thinks I'm handsome,' he thought with a goofy grin forming on his mouth as he saw them disappear around the corner bringing a hand up to touch the place where she had kissed him.

"What are you smiling about?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. Alistair turned to see Duncan right beside him.

"Oh nothing Duncan," why does he always get caught doing stupid things. 'Oh don't go down that road', he thought. "Are you done?"

"Yes, Valendrian and I had a nice long chat. We should turn in for the night as we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Will we be heading to Ostagar next?" Alistair asked.

"No, not yet. I'm still in search of a new recruit. Our next destination is Highever. My friend Bryce is the Teryn there and I've heard rumors that his daughter is quite skilled."

'Oh, great a noble man's daughter; wonderful, slim chance that she won't be a spoiled princess', he thought, 'Wait, doesn't Jena live in Highever?' he thought as he followed Duncan into the night hoping by some chance that he would see the girl in question there.

* * *

I know there are probably some questions about Jena and how she became the Dark Crusader and everything but I will add more detail about that in later chapters. If you have any questions that you want answered all you have to do is ask. Speaking of future chaps the next chapter will be the start of the Noble origins story with the Blight yay!


	10. Chapter 10

Five days later Alistair and Duncan arrived at Highever castle. Duncan told Alistair that the Teryn would be expecting them and to let him do most of the talking. If they were unable to get the Teryn's daughter as a recruit there was also another promising man they could use, a knight named Ser Gilmore.

One of the castle guards lead them to the Main Hall where the Teryn was waiting for them after being informed of their arrival. Upon entering the grand hall Alistair saw that the Teryn was already in the presence of other company. There was a man he was talking to in fine clothing and beside the Teryn was a woman donned in light leather armor. Her back was turned to them.

The Teryn saw them enter, "Ah here they are now. Pup there is someone I would like you to meet," gesturing to them the woman turned around.

'Maker's breath', Alistair thought. Standing before them was Jena with a slightly amused and shocked expression on her face. 'She's the Teryn's daughter?' he thought disbelievingly knowing that Jena was The Dark Crusader, a master thief who is also the daughter of a respected noble.

"It is an honor to be a guest in your hall Teryn Cousland," Duncan said as both he and Alistair bowed in respect. The situation was just too weird.

"My lordship, you didn't mention that a Grey Warden would be present." Howe said.

"Duncan and Alistair had only just arrived unannounced. Is there a problem?" Bryce asked, a bit perplexed at Howe's tone.

"Of course not. But, guests of this stature command certain protocol. I am at a disadvantage." Okay now he was creepy.

"We rarely have the pleasure of seeing one in person, much less two, that's true. Sorry we have seemed to have gone off track. Duncan, Alistair I would like you to met my daughter Jena; she had only returned home just the other day."

"It is good to see you both again," she greeted with a smile.

"Again? You have met these Grey Wardens before, Pup?"

"Yes, father we met by chance in the capital, a few days before I left", she explained.

"I hope my daughter didn't cause you any trouble Duncan," Bryce joked.

"None at all your lordship. It was a pleasure to have met your daughter, though at the time we had no idea that she was so."

"Please call me Bryce, Duncan. We've know each other long enough for you to call me by name," he looked to his daughter, "Duncan here is looking for recruits before he and Alistair join us and their fellow Wardens in the south. I believe that he has his eye on Ser Gilmore."

"If I might be so bold Bryce, I might suggest that your daughter would be an excellent candidate." Duncan spoke up.

"Honored though I might be this is my daughter we're talking about. I have not so many children that I'll gladly see them all off to battle. Unless, you intend to invoke the right of conscription?" he challenged.

"Have no fear. While we need as many good recruits as we can find I have no intention of forcing the issue." Duncan reassured him.

"I don't know Father, I think it would be an honor to join the Wardens in their cause. You know fight the good fight." Jena said voicing her opinion.

"As proud as I am to have a strong daughter such as you Jena, I'm still not ready to let you go out into the world and have you risk your life. Parents should not outlive their children."

"But, Father.." she tried to reason.

"Please, Pup not now. You'll get your chance to make your mark on the world someday, but for now we'll talk about it later." He finalized.

"Fine," she said stubbornly.

"Good, now Pup can you make sure that the Wardens requests are seen to while I'm gone?"

"Of course, Father I'll see to them personally." She replied automatically.

"That's my girl. Now in the mean time find Fergus and tell him to lead the troops to Ostagar ahead of me. We'll talk more later, okay? Oh and why don't you give Alistair here a tour of the castle? The poor lad is standing here stiff as stone," he said with humor.

"Yes, Father", she smiled.

Duncan couldn't help, but let out a small chuckle, "I'll come find you later Alistair."

Once Jena had lead Alistair out of the Main Hall and down the corridor a bit she turned to him.

"I can't believe that you're actually here!" she said excitedly as she hugged him spontaneously.

"Yeah, I know, small world right? How come you never told me that you were the Teryn's daughter?" Trying to distract himself from the blush he could already feel rising on his face.

Jena broke away from him before anyone saw them, "Look I don't tell a lot of people of my status because I'm never sure of how they will react to it. Even at the Alienage only Shianni, Valendrian and Soris know of it. I'm afraid if the others there find out about it then they would only see me for my status not for who I am. That's why I didn't tell you plus we had just met and there was the whole thing about possibly never seeing you again. I didn't mean to keep it from you, but you can understand my reasons right?" looking at him desperately hoping that he would understand.

'More than you will ever know', he thought, "Of course, I understand. You were in a difficult situation and I didn't expect to instantly gain your complete trust. And speaking of trust I don't exactly put mine in Howe."

"Yes, the man does give off an unpleasant vibe doesn't he? Doesn't really make me regret about ever stealing from him," she whispered, "the man is a complete snake."

"And your father considers him as one of his closest friends. Hmm, that's not exactly comforting, is it?"

"No, it's not, but let's move on to more pleasant subjects, shall we. Now if you follow me I shall take you on a tour of a lifetime," she said dramatically as she guided them down the hallway, "or we can completely skip it."

Alistair was going to need the tour if he was ever going to find his way around the castle. "A tour would be greatly appreciated," he said.

"Very well then Ser, if you would follow me please we will start off with the training grounds."

The Cousland castle was an impressive structure indeed. Jena showed him many areas of the castle and gave only the briefest descriptions of them. So far the tour was becoming very useful to Alistair as they went around the next corner. They had shared a few laughs and swapped some interesting stories, but all good things had to come to an end when a red headed man interrupted them.

"There you are, my lady. Your mother told me that the Teryn had summoned you, but I didn't want to interrupt. And who might this be?"

"Hello to you too Ser Gilmore. This is Alistair one of the Grey Wardens that will be staying here for the next few days. Alistair met Ser Gilmore my friend and one of my Father's most trusted knights here at Highever."

'Ah so this is Ser Gilmore', Alistair thought, "Nice to meet you Ser Gilmore."

"The honor is mine here Alistair," turning to Jena, "Sorry for my abruptness my lady it's simply that I have been looking everywhere for you. I fear your hound has gotten the kitchens into an uproar again. Nan is threatening to leave." He warned.

"Did Eddie get into the larder again?"

"I'm afraid so my lady."

"Seriously, we've only been home for less than two days. He's such rascal always getting into trouble." Shaking her head.

"Well, you know what they say - like mistress like hound." Alistair joked.

"If you are comparing me to a Mabari I'll take that as a compliment. I'll go collect Eddie, Ser Gilmore and there's no need to worry. Nan would never quit."

"Well, your mother disagrees. She says collect the dog and quickly. You know these Mabari hounds, he'll listen to his mistress, but anyone else risks an arm bitten off."

"Eddie wouldn't hurt anybody," Jena tried to assure him.

"That I'm not willing to risk. You mother would also like me to escort you until the matter is settled." He informed her.

"You can carry on with your duty Ser Gilmore. I'm giving Alistair the grand tour anyway so he can assist me if Nan starts throwing things." Alistair noticed the slight look of disappointment on the knight's face. Oh, sod it the man had a crush on Jena, 'Who wouldn't', Alistair thought.

"Very well, I have a few matters to attend to anyway. Till later my lady," he said before leaving them.

"So he's the one that Duncan is considering for recruitment?" Alistair wanted to confirm.

"Yes, he is the only Ser Gilmore we have here. He is a good knight, though being a Warden is something he has always hoped to become."

"And you don't want to?" he asked.

"I would like to if I had the chance, but let's face it my Father will never consider it. He only called me back home to house sit. I'm happy that he trusts me with such a task, but I would rather go and fight alongside my Father and brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Yes, my brother Fergus. My Father mentioned him earlier. You'll meet him once we save Nan from Eddie."

"And who's Nan?"

"Nan was the one who took care of me when I was little. Now she's in charge of the kitchens. She is quite something."

"How so?"

"Oh, you'll see when you meet her."

* * *

A/N: Okay here is a random fun fact for ya I named Jena's Mabari after Eddie the dog from the tv show Frasier I'm also done watching all the seasons (lol I have no life). Anyways I love Eddie on there and when I started writing this story I was trying to figure out a good name for Dog and then Eddie just popped into my head. Thank you to those that read this silly random note of mine =D.


	11. Chapter 11

They had mostly finished the tour of Cousland castle only dealing with a few interruptions. One of these interruptions involved rats that were not your average already large house rat, but giant cat sized rats. It turns out that Eddie was in the larder for a reason other than raiding the larder. He was doing a little bit of rat hunting. After, dealing with the rodent infestation and an upset Nan, Jena and Alistair began to make their way upstairs to find Fergus.

"I still can't get over how huge those rats were!" Alistair exclaimed, "I mean have you ever seen such large rats in your life?"

"I know they were like 5 times larger than your average rat," Jena exaggerated.

"And who knew that rats could be so bloody," gesturing to his blood covered body.

"Don't worry, after we find Fergus I'll have a bath prepared for you and myself. I definitely could use one." She looked at her stained armor.

Turning at the next corner to head upstairs Alistair could see an older woman coming down the hallway.

"Oh, no brace yourself," Jena warned him.

"What?" he asked puzzled as the woman came closer.

"Ah, there you are my lovely daughter. I take it by the look of that troublesome hound of yours that the situation in the kitchen is handled," not noticing Alistair as Eddie let out a low whine.

"Yes, Mother, Nan is back to work in the kitchens as we speak." Jena replied.

"That's good, you've always had a way with Nan. And who is this young man?" Now taking note of the Warden beside her daughter.

"Mother, this is Alistair, one of the Grey Wardens that will be staying with us over the next few days. Alistair this is my mother Lady Eleanor Cousland."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Cousland," he bowed in respect.

"Ah, what a gentleman. Tell me Alistair, are you attached to anyone right now?"

'She did not just seriously ask that!' Jena's invoice screamed.

"Oh, Maker" she said in despair.

"Umm..No, your ladyship", he answered unsure of where this was going.

"Excellent, then perhaps you won't mind being set up with my darling girl," hoping that this man would be perfectly suited for her daughter.

"Mother, please stop you're embarrassing him," Jena pleaded.

"What? He's available, you're available and the two of you look so good together."

She had to stop this now before either of them died of embarrassment. Alistair's cheeks where already red, "I can handle my own affairs, thank you Mother."

"Oh, alright, have it your way Jena, but don't say I never tried to set you up with any nice men. It was nice meeting you Alistair, now see if you can charm my stubborn daughter."

"Who do you think I inherited the trait from in the first place?" Jena muttered as she watched her Mother go. "I am so sorry that you had to go through that."

"Your Mother is an interesting woman."

"Can't deny that bit of truth. Now let's go find my brother and try to forget about this little incident."

Upstairs Alistair met Jena's brother Fergus along with his wife Oriana, and their son Oren. When her parents arrived he excused himself to allow them some privacy as they said their final farewells to Fergus before he left for Ostagar. Alistair could see that Jena's family was really close unlike some of the other noble families he had seen that weren't so open to public displays of affection. He was a bit jealous of Jena for the family he never had, but perhaps someday he could have one if the Maker allowed him.

"Alistair you're still here?" Jena said as she emerged from the room her father close behind her.

"Yes, why?"

"I thought you would have gone off to find Duncan."

"Well, I wasn't sure if we were finished with the tour," he said.

"Besides the stables we're pretty much done. I would show you around the grounds, but Father here is sending me to bed."

"You have a big day tomorrow Pup, you're going to need your rest." He reasoned while messing up her hair.

"Aw, Father!" she complained trying to fix it.

"What? I think it suits you Pup. It goes with the bloodstains. What do you think lad?"

"Hmm.. I think a splash of mud here and there and she'd be the prettiest girl in all the land," making the Teryn laugh, "Ow! What was that for?" he asked after Jena had punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

"That was for helping him. And this," proceeding to punch her Father, but more lightly than the one she had given Alistair, "is just for you being you Father."

"Ow! That's some punch you have their Pup. You see how she treats me Alistair? Aren't I the luckiest father ever to have my little girl show me such affection."

"Ha ha very funny Father. Now if you'll excuse me I am going to take a bath and go to bed." She said walking off.

"Aw, no goodnight kiss for your dear Father?" the Teryn called to her.

Jena let out a long sigh, "Fine," she said before coming back, "I could never stay mad at you."

"Then what were all those fits that you had as a child?"

"That was just a phase. Goodnight Father," she said before placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight Pup, sweet dreams. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Alistair."

"Goodnight Jena," he called after her as she went to her room. He turned back to the Teryn only to notice him starting at him, "Your lordship?"

"Alistair, I would like to speak to you for a moment."

"Of course."

"You see as a Father I couldn't help, but notice how close you are with my one and only daughter. And this causes me great concern." He said seriously.

"I understand your lordship," he said a bit sadly. He knew that the Teryn would not approve of his daughter socializing with someone of his status when she was to be arranged with another noble man's son.

The Teryn chuckled, "Alistair, lad I'm just pulling your leg. I'm actually quite pleased of how well the two of you have gotten along. No man has ever held Jena's attention for so long before."

"But, your lordship…" taken aback from the Teryn's response.

"Now, Alistair I know the two of you are just friends, but a Father can hope can he not? Anyway, I was actually hoping that you could do me a favor?"

"Anything your lordship."

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind looking after my daughter until you and Duncan join the rest of us at Ostagar. It would mean a lot to me if you could do this."

"It shall be done Sir."

"Good lad. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go downstairs and check on a few things before I depart tomorrow. Have a good night Alistair."

* * *

OK had a little bit of fun with this with the whole mother embarrasses her daughter and father teasing his little girl. It wasn't much but I think it was cute =)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Ok so I'm trying to make my chapters longer even though most of them turn out to be about 5 pages in a word doc but they just dont seem that long to me when i post them. Now with that bit of ramble over (i do that a lot) I'm going to go hide in a corner until you're all done reading this cause for some unknown reason I act like a chicken whenever I post a new chap. So if you need me i'll be over here thxs.

* * *

"Any luck finding them yet?" Duncan asked as they made their way back to the larder. The Wardens had woken up in the middle of the night by a scream to find that Howe's men had invaded the castle. Prepared for battle they fought their way through the castle only to find the Teryn badly injured. He asked them to try to find his wife and daughter before they tried to escape through the hidden servants entrance in the larder.

"No, haven't seen them yet." Alistair said, praying for their safety. Ever since Howe's men had stormed the castle there had been no sign of Lady Cousland or Jena and they were running out of time. It was only a matter of time before Howe's men would break through the main door. They had to leave while they sill had the chance with or without the Teryn's family.

As they entered the kitchens they began to hear voices.

"Bryce, no the servant's entrance is right here. We can flee together find you healing magic."

"The castle is surrounded, Eleanor. I can not make it."

"I'm afraid the Teryn is correct. Howe's men have not discovered this exit yet. They have surrounded the castle so getting past them will be difficult." Duncan said upon entering with Alistair seeing that it was Lady Cousland and Jena along with her Mabari that were with the Teryn. The Wardens kneeled down beside them.

"Where are Oriana and Oren?" Alistair whispered to Jena noticing that the two family members where not with them.

"Howe's men got to them first," she choked with the pain of seeing her dear sister-in-law and nephew laying in pools of there own blood. Alistair then immediately dropped the subject.

"You are Duncan the other Grey Warden?" Lady Cousland asked, her attention focused on the older Warden.

"I am, your ladyship. The Teryn along with Alistair and I tried to reach you sooner." He confirmed.

"My daughter helped me get here, Maker be praised."

"I am not surprised." Duncan said looking at Jena.

"Mother and Father did teach me a thing or two."

"You got that right Pup. Duncan, Alistair, please, I beg you take my wife and daughter to safety." The Teryn said looking at Duncan desperately.

"We will, your lordship, but I fear that I must ask for something in return."

"Anything."

"What is happening here is pale in comparison to the evil now loose in this world. I came to your castle seeking a recruit. The darkspawn threat demands that I leave here with one," he explained to him.

"I understand," he said softly, glancing at his daughter.

"I shall take the Teryna and your daughter to Ostagar. To tell Fergus and the King what has happened here. Then your daughter joins the Grey Wardens," he told Bryce.

"So long as justice comes to Howe, I agree."

"Then I offer you a place among the Grey Wardens. Fight with us," he said looking at Jena.

"Wait, me?" she said a bit surprised, "What about Ser Gilmore?"

"Ser Gilmore is indeed skilled, but you have always been my first choice. The Grey Wardens could use someone like you."

"Then I accept, but what of Howe?"

"We will tell the King and he will punish Howe for his betrayal. I am sorry, but a Grey Warden's duty takes precedence even over vengeance."

"Pup, Howe will try to use this chaos to advance himself. Do not let him succeed, see that vengeance be brought on him and make him forever regret about betraying us."

"I won't let him get away with this. I'll do you proud, Father," tears starting to brim in her eyes.

"Pup, I have always been proud of you. I am grateful to the Maker for giving me you for a daughter. Now, Jena you must leave me." Brushing away a stray tear from his daughter's cheek.

"Bryce, are you sure?" his wife asked.

"Our daughter will not die of Howe's treachery. She will live and make her mark on the world."

Contemplating this, the Teryna turned to her daughter, "Jena darling, go with Duncan and Alistair. You'll have a better chance of escaping without me."

"Mother…"

"Eleanor.." Bryce and Jena tried to argue.

"Hush you two, I'll kill every bastard that comes through that doorway to buy them time. But l won't abandon you Bryce," she finalized silencing them both from further argument.

"Are you sure that this is what you want, Mother?" Jena whispered.

"My place is with your father. At his side to death and beyond," she told her. Jena nodded her understanding in silence knowing that her parents truly loved each other. She admired her Mother for her courage to stand by her love's side till the end.

"I'm sorry that it has come to this, my love," Bryce apologized as the pain slowly began to take its toll on his body.

"We had a good life and did all we could. It's up to our children now." Watching with pain to see her husband suffer through such agony. Bryce looked to his daughter.

"Go Pup, warn your brother and know that we love you both."

"I love you too Father, Mother," she said as she hugged each of them not wanting to let go, "Watch over me, okay?" she choked out.

"Of course, we will darling," her Mother replied as she embraced her only daughter.

"Take care of yourself, Pup," her father told her.

The sound of a breaking door echoed through the castle as Howe's men broke through. Duncan was standing at the servant's entrance.

"They have broken through the gates, we must go now," he announced.

"Come on, Jena, we have to go," Alistair helped her up.

"Wait, Alistair," the Teryn said as he pulled on his arm.

"Please, promise me that you will take care of Jena."

"I will." Alistair promised standing up to grasp Jena's arm to follow after Duncan.

"Goodbye, darling," her mother called after her.

"Goodbye," Alistair heard her whisper as they ran. Ran for their lives and ran towards their unknown future.

* * *

It had been 6 days since they had fled from Highever, and both Alistair and Duncan were worried about Jena. She had barely spoken at all during their journey down south to Ostagar. When spoken to she would just nod her head absently and at meal times she ate very little. Eddie was showing deep concern for his mistress as well doing whatever he could to comfort her. Alistair couldn't blame Jena, she had lost her entire family in one night. It was going to take time for her to heal from all this. He had asked Duncan about talking to her, but he had advised him to give Jena her space and time for her to grieve her loss.

That night at camp it rained. The downpour was accompanied by great bursts of thunder that woke Alistair from his sleep. 'Maker' he thought, irritated as he roused. He opened the flap of his tent to look outside into the darkness.

"Arf!" Eddie barked as he popped up at the entrance soaked from the rain.

"Aw, Eddie don't come in here!" Alistair exclaimed not wanting Eddie to track mud into his dry tent.

"Arf!" he barked again looking back and forth from him and Jena's tent. Trying to tell him something.

"What is it boy?" Eddie ran over to Jena's tent trying to get Alistair to follow him. Getting the message Alistair already in his tunic and breeches, pulled on his boots and traveling cloak. Pulling up his hood he braved the storm as he made his way over to Eddie.

"Arf! Arf!" he barked at the tent.

"Hello? Jena?" Alistair called through the tent. When he didn't receive a response he pulled back the tent flap to find it empty. Alistair started to panic, 'Did she leave? No her stuff is still here,' seeing her family sword and shield along with her other belongings. She wouldn't leave those behind. He turned to look at Eddie.

"Where is she, Eddie?"

With a bark of approval Eddie ran into the darkness followed by Alistair. A short distance away from their camp Alistair began to make out a figure in the darkness. Getting closer he saw that it was indeed Jena standing there taking the full blunt of the raging storm.

* * *

Jena stood there out in the open letting the rain run down her, soaking her completely. What was she doing? Why was she here? Everything was a blur now, nothing made sense to her in all this darkness. Seeing her parents like that, leaving them to their death it hurt, it hurt so much it felt like someone had cut her heart out. Her parents did not deserve such a fate. She knew that she had to find her brother, but she felt so lost in her world now filled with pain and sorrow. How was she suppose to tell him the faith of his wife and son?

"Jena!"

She heard someone call for her, but she just ignored it and just listened to the sound of the pounding rain and crackles of lighting bursting through the night sky.

"Jena, for Maker's sake what are you doing out here? It's dangerous to be out here," It was Alistair that had found her. What was he doing out here? Why was he out her searching for her? After, a moment of silence he spoke up again.

"Come on Jena, please talk to me," he pleaded.

"Why do you care?" she replied in a dead tone staring at the ground.

Alistair was taken aback a bit from her tone. Grabbing her firmly by her shoulders he forced her to look him in the eye, "Because you're my friend and it hurts to see you in so much pain. Now why are you out here?" he said seriously.

Jena stared at him blankly for a moment surprised that he considered her a friend after the short amount of time they had spent together, but it made her a bit happy to know that he thought of her as such.

Looking down at her boots she replied, "I just want the rain to wash it all the way, all the pain, the sadness, everything. It's stupid, I know, but I don't know what else to do Alistair, I feel so empty," looking back up at him Alistair could just tell apart the rain from the tears that she was refusing to cry.

"You can cry you know."

"No, I can't cry. I have to be strong for them."

"Crying does not make you weak."

"But, I can't.."

"Yes, you can," cutting her off, "You don't have to be strong all the time."

She nodded her head in understanding.

"Jena, it's okay to cry," he told her softly.

With that one line he broke the last bit of her will, as she let the tears fall mixing in with the rain. Jena realized that was all she needed, she needed someone to tell her that it was alright, alright for her to let it all out to show her vulnerable side.

Seeing her finally break down Alistair gently pulled her into his arms where she latched onto him. He pulled a bit of his cloak around her to try and protect her from the rain, though he was now entirely soaked himself. They stood there for a time as Alistair allowed Jena to pour her heart out. Eventually, he noticed that she had cried herself to sleep. Scooping her up into his arms Alistair made his way back to camp with Eddie trotting up beside him.

In the morning Jena woke up to find herself back in her tent with Eddie curled up beside her lightly snoring. Remembering last night she couldn't believe how nice Alistair was to her and because of him she felt that the hole in her heart had begun to heal, even if it was just a little, but it was a start. Pulling back the flap of her tent to see Alistair making breakfast with Duncan nowhere in sight.

"Morning, Alistair," she greeted exiting her tent.

"Morning Jena," he said to her before turning back to the fire to hand her share of breakfast to her. With his back turned to her she quickly kneeled down and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered to him before taking the plate from him and retreating back into her tent leaving a blushing Alistair behind.

* * *

A/N: Still in the corner... Oh look an egg!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update my life has been getting a little busy lately with school coming up and all, which brings me to inform you that I may not be update on a weekly basis like i have been doing so far. I hate to do this but unfortunately school comes first. But I will do my best to update when i can, I hope that you guys understand. In the meantime please read and enjoy chapter 13!=)

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After the night of the storm Jena's mood seemed to improve as she communicated and interacted more with Duncan and Alistair. Alistair even managed to get her to crack a smile on more than one occasion. Though still somewhat in the process of grieving, Jena was not yet back to her cheerful, easy going self. During the entire trip Eddie stuck to her like glue as if scared that his beloved owner would suddenly vanish. And like Eddie, Jena took comfort in his constant presence and would constantly pet him as if to reassure herself that he was truly there with her.

The journey to Ostagar was long but worth the site of seeing the magnificence of the ruined fortress that towered over the trees that were on the edge of the Korcari Wilds. Jena couldn't help but be in awe of the structure as Duncan started giving her a little history lesson of it and their current status with the darkspawn.

"…built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the Northern lowlands. It is fitting that we make our stand here even if we face a different foe within that forest. The king's forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times, but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. This Blight must be stopped here and now. If it spreads to the North, Ferelden will fall." He explained as the entered the secured battlements of Ostagar where he was suddenly interrupted.

"Ho there, Duncan," a man dressed in blinding gold dragon armor greeted them. Accompanied by two guards and armor so well polished that one could see their reflection, this man was no doubt the King of Ferelden.

"King Cailan," Duncan responded slightly surprised by the king's presence as they shook hands, "I didn't expect.."

"A royal welcome," Cailan finished for him, "I was beginning to worry that you were going to miss all the fun."

"Not if I could help it, your Majesty."

"Then I will have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all. Glorious.", he said standing beside Duncan with all the pride of a king. "The other Wardens told me that you had found a promising recruit. I take it this is she," seeing Jena standing beside Duncan.

"Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty.."

"No need, Duncan," cutting him off now standing before Jena, "you are Bryce's youngest, are you not. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think we actually ever met."

"No, we never have, your Majesty. My name is Jena."

"Ah yes that was the name. Your father spoke often of you whenever he came for business in Denerim. Your brother has already arrived with Highever and his men, but we are still awaiting your father. I was expecting him to be here by now."

"He's…he's not coming, your Majesty." Jena forced out. She refused to look weak in front of her present company.

"He's not?" shocked by the news, "Why? Duncan, what has happened?"

"Teryn Cousland and his wife are dead, your Majesty."

"Dead? What do you mean?"

"Arl Howe has shown himself a traitor and has over taken Highever castle. Had we not escaped he would have killed us and told you any story he wished."

"I can scarcely believe it," the King responded taking in this new information, "How could he think he could get away with such treachery? As soon as we are done here I will turn my army North and bring Howe to justice. You have my word," turning his attention back to Jena.

"Thank you, your Majesty."

"No doubt that you want to see your brother. Unfortunately, he and his men are scouting in the Wilds."

"Do you know when he will return?"

"Not until after the battle is over, I'm afraid. I apologize but there is nothing more that I can do. All that I can suggest is that you vent your grief against the darkspawn for the time being."

"Thank you, your Majesty. So long as Howe pays it will just have to do for now."

"Good. Now I'm sorry to cut this short, but I must return to my tent. Loghain eagerly awaits to bore me with his strategies."

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliff forces could be here in less than a week," Duncan informed him.

"Ah," he scoffed, "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different."

"You sound very confident of that," Jena observed.

"I'm not even sure that this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas we see no sign of an archdemon."

"Disappointed, your Majesty?" Duncan asked.

"I'd hope for a war like in the tales- a king riding with the fable Grey Wardens against a tainted god. But I suppose this will have to do. Now I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farwell Grey Wardens," excusing himself before he and his guards made their way back to camp.

"I guess the King has never heard of the phrase 'Be careful of what you wish for'. He's too over confident," Jena spoke aloud once the king was far out of earshot going over some of his words in her head. To her, the king came off as a child who wanted nothing more that to play solider boy. This was real life not a pretend fantasy game.

"I agree, but what the King says is true- they have won several battles against the darkspawn here."

"Even so, Duncan, you don't sound very reassured about it."

Duncan motioned for them to continue on before answering, "Despite the victories, so far the horde grows larger with each passing day. By now they look to out number us. I know there is an archdemon behind this, but I cannot ask the King to act solely on my feeling."

"Then I guess we better move quickly."

"Yes we should proceed with the ritual."

"What do you need me to do then?"

"Actually I need to speak to Alistair alone for a moment," he began.

"Aw, what did I do now?" Alistair whined as he came up from behind Jena.

"Where did you go?" Jena thought that Alistair had been standing beside her the whole time. She couldn't believe that she didn't notice his absence during the entire conversation.

"Nowhere really, just saw a pretty object and wanted to get a better look at it. Shiny objects distract me," he joked not wanting her to look too deep into his sudden disappearance.

"Right," she dragged out the word not believing his poor excuse for a second. Jena knew there was more than he was letting on, but she didn't push on the topic for the moment. There would be time to interrogate him later.

"As I was saying," Duncan continued, "You are free to explore the camp as you wish though all that I ask is for you to not leave it for the time being." Stopping before the beginning of the massive bridge that stretched across the span of the gorge where the fortress of Ostagar stood.

"Understood," Jena nodded.

"Good. When you are done just find Alistair. I'm sure I will be done talking to him by the time you are done looking around. Then we shall summon the other recruits and proceed with your joining."

"Alright then, I'll leave you to your business. Come on, Eddie," taking her first steps onto the bridge leaving the Wardens behind.

"What did I do this time, Duncan?" Alistair asked as far as he knew he had done nothing wrong.

"It is not what you have done, Alistair, but is what you are doing."

"And that would be?"

"You are becoming far too attached to Jena, Alistair. I've warned you how risky that is with recruits."

"Yes, Duncan, I know, but we're just friends. Is that so bad?"

"Now, Alistair, don't think I don't notice those doe eye looks that you've been giving her over the past week. You came to start caring more and more for this girl since Highever."

"But, Duncan…" he tried to protest.

"Ah uhun, no buts," Duncan cut him off, "don't even try to deny it," he let out a tired sigh, "Look when we were back in Denerim I was happy that you had found someone that had caught your interest. But now that same girl is about to take the risk that we all do to become Grey Wardens. Alistair, you are well aware of what the risk is, I just don't want you to get hurt if this ends badly."

"I understand, Duncan."

"But, then again, maybe this is the time to make the most of the time she might have left."

"Okay, now you are just confusing me, Duncan. What exactly are you expecting me to do?"

"Forgive me, Alistair, perhaps I'm just being a little over protective of you. Maker knows that you are old enough to make your own decisions. Just remember that you have your duty as a Warden."

"I know. I know. won't say anything about the ritual to her."

"Good to hear. Now if you'll excuse me I have to deal with some business in the camp. Try not to get into any trouble."

"Me? Trouble? Just who do you think you are talking to, Duncan?"

* * *

Sometime later….

'How exactly did I manage to get myself into this situation again?' Alistair asked himself as listened to the mage in front of him going on and on about what a nuisance he was being to him.

"Haven't the Wardens asked enough from the Circle?" the mage asked clearly irritable.

"I simply came here to deliver a message to you from the Revered Mother, Ser Mage," Alistair answered trying to be polite, "She desires your presence." Hearing footsteps come up to the platform, Alistair was able to see that it was Jena and Eddie from the corner of his eye.

"What the reverence desires is of no concern to me. I am helping the Wardens by the King's orders I might add."

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" Seeing how his little quirk was having a hard time keeping Jena from smiling.

"Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner."

"Yes, I was harassing you by delivering a message."

"Your glibness does you no credit."

"And here I thought we were getting along so well. I was even going to name one of my children after you. The grumpy one."

"Enough, I will speak to the woman if I must," the mage turned now seeing that another company was present, "Get out of my way fool," he exclaimed as he pushed right by Jena earning a not so friendly reaction from her hound. Eddie let out a dangerous growl before he lunged to bite the rude mage right on the arse.

"Maker!" shouted the mage before he turned his furious gaze on Eddie who was now wagging his tail, with a piece of cloth from the mages robe, happy at his handy work.

"You mangy mutt you…"

Eddie responded my barking excitedly before making a run for it.

"Come back here, you giant fur ball!" called the mage as he chased right after Eddie, his screaming echoing in the distance.

Both Alistair and Jena burst out laughing while they watched in pure amusement as Eddie dashed to play, run and hide from the mean nasty mage in the camp.

"Oh, Maker," Alistair got out between laughs trying to get it under control, "It's official - I love that dog."

Jena was leaning against a pillar to keep from falling onto the ground as she clutched at her stomach doubled over in her laughing fit. "Remind me to give him a bone later, "now attempting to catch her breath, "Oh, Maker I needed that," she straightened up.

"What? Seeing your dog rattle up a mage?"

"No, a good laugh. Maker, it's a good thing Eddie has experience in hiding from Nan. He would hide from her for hours while she…" Jena broke off at the realization of mentioning another person that was gone from her life. "Sorry," she apologized instantly sobering up, "didn't mean to come down that fast."

"Hey now, there's no need to apologize. I understand that the healing process takes time," Alistair said placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, still it felt nice to laugh again, you know," offering him a small smile.

"Well, if you ever need a good laugh, you know where to find me. I know everything from jokes to funny one-liners. It's what I'm here for."

Alistair was able to get a laugh out of her, "Good to know. And thanks, Alistair, for helping me through this. I'm not sure if I would have managed it on my own."

"Ah, no thanks are needed for this knight. It's all in the job description," he waved it off getting embarrassed. "Come on, we better go rescue Eddie and get back to Duncan. He's probably waiting patiently to get started with the Joining," making his way down the stairs with Jena right behind him. Matching his pace she kept up along side him not saying a word.

"Remind me to never to get on Eddie's bad side," Alistair joked before getting playfully punched in the shoulder by his favourite thief.

"Ah, there you two are," Duncan said as they approached, "I assume now that you are ready to begin preparations. Assuming, of course, that you are done riling up mages, Alistair," looking at Alistair with a slight grin on his face.

"Personally, I think you set the whole thing up so I would get into trouble just so you would have the privilege to say 'I told you so'," Alistair accused him, " And what can I say? The revered Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt, they should stick her in the army."

"She forced you to sass the mage, did she?" looking at him a bit disbelievingly.

"No, that was Eddie and he did a pretty good job of it if I do say so myself."

"Ah yes that brings me to my next point," looking to Jena, "I saw your hound running through here like the horde itself was on his heels and haven't seen him since. What exactly happened there?"

"Eddie bit the mean mage right on arse," Jena confessed.

"I see."

"What? He started it," she reasoned like a child.

"Maker," Duncan sighed shaking his head, "there is plenty to be done before the battle and we don't have much time. Alistair, go find the other recruits, and Jena, you go find Eddie before he gets into anymore trouble."

"Yes, Duncan," they replied together before setting off to their tasks.

It didn't take long for Alistair to gather Daveth and Ser Jory, their other recruits to begin the Joining, but it was taking Jena longer than expected to return with Eddie.

"So where exactly is this other recruit?" Jory asked a bit impatient to get things started.

"Please be patient, Ser Jory," Duncan calmed him, "she is just fetching her hound so we need not worry about him getting into any more mischief."

"She? I didn't know our newest recruit was going be a she. Oh, I can't wait to set my eyes on her." Daveth spoke now seeming to have no problem in waiting for the woman who had impressed the mighty Duncan. Though his little ramble didn't seem to settle quite too well with Alistair. Spotting Jena a bit off in the distance though seemed to brighten his mood instantly. Eddie was quickly trotting along side her though instantly picked up his pace once he spotted Alistair- beating Jena to them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Duncan," she said once she got to them, "He was hiding in the Mage's camp of all places."

"So he's the type of dog that likes to live on the edge," Alistair joked.

"Well, not exactly I found him being shielded from harm by this mage, Wynne. Nice lady; anyway, had a small chat with her, thanked her for preventing my hound to becoming a pile of ashes and here we are." Keeping her explanation as short as possible.

"Now that Jena is here we can finally begin. You three, along with Alistair, are to travel into the Korcari Wilds to collect three vials of darkspawn blood. You will also seek out an old abandoned Warden outpost as we have recently learned that there are some important documents that were left behind that could be of great use to us. Return here when you are done and then we shall move on to the next stage of your Joining."

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked the chapter. I know everyone is very familiar of the events at Ostagar, but it just needed to be put in. It's part of the process. Also I always wondered why you had to leave Dog with Duncan so now u know my version on what would happen if he stuck with you lol.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! I'm back! but first off I would like to apologize to all my readers out there for my disappearance. School unforgettably got in the way of things in the biggest way possible. But hopefully since my new term is not as chaotic as the former I'm going to do my best to make more frequent updates if possible. I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me and will still continue to read my story! Thank you all and now I finally present to you the long over due CHAPTER 14! Enjoy folks! =D

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It all happened too fast; it seemed to have happen in all one big blur. It felt like it was just yesterday that Jena had arrived with Duncan and Alistair at Ostagar but in truth it had just been over a week since the tragic event. It wasn't just that but everything else that followed after the journey into the Korcari Wilds, meeting the witch Morrigan and her crazy mother, the Joining, and the final talk with Duncan before the fight.

Jena had gone through the Joining with Daveth and Ser Jory before their battle with the darkspawn. She was the only one that had survived the ritual. The darkspawn blood that she had to drink to become a Grey Warden still left an annoying after taste in her mouth but the memory of the battle was still fresh in her mind. The King had instructed her and Alistair to ensure that the Tower of Isal was lit to signal Teryn Lohgain to make his advancement on the battlefield. The tower had been overrun with darkspawn and when they did make their way to the top and lit the signal the bastard quit the field and the battle was lost. So many lives had been lost and very few survived. And right now no one was suffering more from the lost than Alistair. Except for Jena and him they were the only members of the order that survived thanks to Flemeth, Morrigan's mother, and right now he was grieving not only for his comrades but for his mentor and friend Duncan.

Right now it felt that time just stood still. They had made camp for the night not too far away from the small village of Lothering with new additions to their party including Morrigan the witch from the wilds, Leliana a chantry sister, and Sten the Quinary. Each of them were off doing their own thing as was Jena, not too far herself from the camp, as she needed to be off on her own for a while. Eddie sat with her quietly on the cool grass with his head perched on his owner's crossed legs as she gently scratched his scalp letting her mind wander. Right now she was worried about Alistair. She turned her field of vision from the rolling grasslands to her fellow Warden that sat unnaturally quiet in front of the roaring campfire staring into the flames that danced before him. Since the battle Alistair had not been the man that she remembered first meeting in the Alienage back in Denerim and she didn't expect him to be. He had just recently lost someone that was a big part of his life just like she had with her family. Jena wanted to go over and help comfort him as he did her but she wanted to give him his space to give him a chance to come to terms with what had happened.

Eddie perked his head up to see what his mistress was staring at. Seeing the object of her concern he let out a small whine as if he too shared the pain of seeing Alistair suffer.

Jena looked down thoughtfully at her dear furry friend, "You're worried about him too, huh?"

Eddie simply laid his head back down on her leg looking rather depressed. "I know me too, boy. Me too." There was a long pause before Jena spoke up again, "Hey why don't you try going over there to see if you can work that puppy dog magic of yours, hmmm?" Immediately Eddie perked up at the suggestion leaving Jena's side and trotting over to Alistair. His Mabari intelligence of understanding always seemed to amaze Jena time after time. She watched him plop himself in front of the Senior Warden to get Alistair's undivided attention focused on him. Minutes passed before Jena noticed a glimpse of a smile ghost over Alistair's lips as he finally gave into the war hound and reached up to scratch Eddie's head and even though Jena could only see Eddie's backside she could tell that he was quite pleased with himself. Finally Jena came to the conclusion that she herself should finally attempt to speak to the Warden herself. She couldn't afford to put it off any longer.

* * *

Alistair sat before the campfire his mind off in his own little world, reflecting on what was and what could have been until Eddie broke him from his train of thought and he saw the hound sit himself right in front of him. Eddie just sat there and continued to stare at him unleashing all the power of his adorable puppy dog look as if testing if the Warden could resist his awesome power. Alistair looked out from the corner of his eye to see Jena herself not too far off silently watching the exchange. It seemed that she sent Eddie over to test the waters before she would make her move. Looking back to Eddie the two warriors shared a silent staring contest for what seemed like forever before Alistair surrendered to his challenger. Cause really who could possibly resist that look? Well, Morrigan maybe. Alistair allowed the smallest of smiles to tug at his lips before he rubbed the hound's head as Eddie looked at him triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah congratulations," he spoke receiving a barking confirmation from him.

"Broke you down with the puppy look, did he?"

Alistair looked up to see that Jena had finally decided to come over though he wasn't sure if he was the best of company at the moment.

"With a gaze like that I'm surprised he doesn't have you wrapped around his little finger," trying to let his humor mask his troubles.

"Believe me he tries especially when it comes to table scraps. You just have to know the trick to resist them." Jena looked down at Eddie thinking of all the times he unleashed the look on her to get food and extra treats.

"And what's that?"

"Well, it's not exactly guaranteed," she explained, "but the trick is not to look into his eyes because that's where all his power lies. So avoid eye contact at all costs though it only works about 50 percent of the time."

"And that's the best solution you could come up with? Have you ever tried just saying no?

"Are you kidding me, have you not see his puppy pout? How could I possibly say no?"

"True you've got a point there." Alistair went silent after that.

Feeling a bit awkward of the silence Jena cleared her throat, "Do you mind if I sit down?" she asked gesturing to the empty spot on the battered log next to him. Alistair simply nodded before Jena sat herself down.

She took in a much needed breath before she let herself speak, "Do you want to talk about Duncan?" she spoke softly knowing that this was a delicate topic to discuss. Duncan had been an important person in his life. She knew that he had been Alistair's mentor and it made her sad to acknowledge that she didn't get the chance to get to know Duncan has Alistair had.

Alistair was not really surprised by her question. He could tell from over the past few days that she had been concerned for him and that eventually she would ask. But he wasn't sure if he was ready to talk about it just yet.

"You don't have to do that, you know. I know you didn't know him as long as I had."

"I want too. I know he meant a lot to you and I don't know if it's too soon, but I just want you to know that I'm here to listen just as you were there for me when I lost my family. I mourn his loss too, you know."

"I just can't believe that he's gone."

"He was like a father to you, wasn't he?"

"Ya, he was." There was a pause before he spoke again. "Did I tell you he recruited me from the Chantry?"

"I didn't know that."

"I was training to become a Templar. Duncan found me before I had taken my vows. I was forever grateful to him for taking me away from such a place." Silence hung in the air for a time. The only sounds coming from the crackling of the fire and the crickets chirping their song in the still night air.

Eddie, being the caring dog that he is, placed his head gently on Alistair's knee, looking up at him concern evident in his eyes. "I should have handled it better," Alistair spoke ending the silence as he scratched the hound's temple, "Duncan warned me right from the start that something like this could happen. Any of us could die in battle. I shouldn't have lost it; not when so much is riding on us not with the Blight and everything. I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to apologize Alistair," Jena replied, "Duncan was an important person in your life. No one would expect you to walk away from what happened unscarred. You saw the wreck I was after Highever." Jena remembered the daze she was trapped in after her family's murder. Everyone heals at their own pace.

"I would like to have a funeral for him after this is done. I don't think he had any family." Alistair could recall the many conversations that he and Duncan had since his joining into the order. And not once could he think of a time where Duncan had spoken of any family that he might have had.

"He had you."

Alistair hadn't really considered that though he, of course, thought of Duncan as the missing father figure in his life. He didn't really think if Duncan had seen him as nothing more that a new member of the Wardens. Who knows maybe he did. "I guess he did. I think he said was from Highever I'd like to go back there and see about putting something up in his honor."

"I think he would like that," she offered him a small smile, "and I, for one, will make sure that it happens. As I will ensure that I take my family's heritage back from Howe. Fergus and I will get it back one way or another." And that she promised herself. Howe would get what he deserved for betraying her family. He better be enjoying his victory now because it would be a victory short lived.

"That's right-your brother," Alistair was kicking himself on the inside. The battle at Ostagar affected Jena as well. How could he have forgotten? "I'm sorry Jena I.."

"Hey now," cutting him off, "you have had a lot on your mind. Besides I'm not going to jump to conclusions just yet. Sooner or later I'll find some trace of him. I'm not going to give up on him now." Jena couldn't afford to. Fergus was, besides herself, the last of the Couslands. The thought of the possibility of Fergus's survival would help her strive harder towards her goals. It would also give her some hope knowing that she had not quite yet lost everyone dear to her.

Seeing how still painful it was for Jena to talk about her family Alistair redirected the conversation back to its original path, "Thank you for coming over here, really I mean it. It was good to talk about it at least a little. And I'll help you find your brother when this is all over."

Jena was a bit surprised at his offer, but she appreciated it none the less, "Thank you Alistair, that means a lot to me. And remember I'm here too; we're in this together and I will see this through till the end with you. You're not alone in this." It wasn't much, but it was something right. It was a reassurance for him to know that she was in this for better or for worse.

Alistair couldn't help but smile at her words, "Good to know." He had always considered the Grey Wardens as his family, but now they were gone. It was comforting to know that Jena would be there every step of the way to wherever their journey took them. Maybe he wasn't as alone as he thought he was.

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A/N: So how was it? Was it okay? Have a lost my touch? Questions questions always questions! Haha As always reviews, comments, and advice is always welcomed. Please I live off your reviews!


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